A 57-year-old man was arrested on Thursday (Nov 27) for his suspected involvement in a case of snatch theft in Bedok.In a statement on the same day, the police said that they received a report of a case of snatch theft along Bedok North Street 2 at about 1.20 am.«An unknown man had purportedly snatched a sling bag from a female victim.»The man subsequently ran away and the victim sustained minor injuries," the police said.Through ground enquiries and with the aid of images from police cameras, police identified the man and arrested him — within 11 hours of the report being made.Cash amounting to $137 and the sling bag were recovered from the man, who will be charged in court on Nov 28 with the offence of snatch theft.If found guilty of the offence, he may be jailed for up to seven years and shall also be liable to caning.In a stern warning to would-be perpetrators, the police said they will not tolerate such brazen acts of crime and will spare no effort to apprehend such offenders and deal with them in accordance with the law.

A Singaporean was arrested in Myanmar for his alleged connection to an international scam syndicate.He was among the 156 foreign nationals nabbed in a raid on gambling and fraud hub Shwe Kokko, according to the government-owned newspaper The Global New Light of Myanmar.He was allegedly part of an online scam and gambling syndicate operating there, and was in hiding after committing offences in neighbouring countries, including Thailand.Responding to AsiaOne’s queries, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said that they are aware of the media report, and are in contact with the Myanmar authorities to render assistance.The others arrested included 65 Chinese nationals, 20 Indians, 13 Kenyans, eight Vietnamese, eight Burundians, seven Filipinos, six Ugandans, five Thais, four Ethiopians, three Nigerians, two Rwandans, a Nepali, a Zimbabwean, a Kazakh, an Uzbek, a Beninese, a Togolese and a Malaysian.Located on the Thai-Myanmar border, Shwe Kokko has been under the spotlight as a fertile ground for scam hubs which are staffed by thousands of willing workers and people trafficked from abroad.

Four people were taken to hospital following a collision involving a car, motorcycle, and taxi along the Seletar Expressway (SLE) on Wednesday (Nov 26).The police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) told AsiaOne they were alerted to an accident at about 1.20pm along SLE towards Bukit Timah Expressway before Lentor Avenue exit.A 70-year-old male taxi driver, a 43-year-old male motorcyclist, a 36-year-old male car passenger, and a 17-year-old male taxi passenger were conscious when taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.Videos of the aftermath of the accident were shared online, showing severe damage to the rear of a car. Its rear wheel had been dislodged and debris scattered across the road.Two SCDF ambulances were also present at the scene, with another blue taxi seen ahead. AsiaOne has reached out to ComfortDelGro for comment. Police investigations are ongoing.[[nid:725747]]xingying.koh@asiaone.com

More companies in Singapore are set to freeze wages over the next year amid growing pessimism about the economy, according to a Singapore Business Federation (SBF) survey released on Thursday (Nov 27).The 2025 National Business Survey, which drew responses from 553 businesses across key sectors, found that just over half of them — 55 per cent — indicated that salaries will stay the same over the next 12 months.It is a dip from the 48 per cent of the firms which said that they have frozen wages over the past 12 months.This comes as only 4 per cent of businesses saw an increase in profitability over the past year, according to SBF — down from 7 per cent in 2024.Just under two-thirds of businesses — 62 per cent — saw no change in profitability, a 12 per cent hike from the previous year.SBF said it suggests a degree of resilience in managing margins amid cost pressures.The survey also found that more businesses — from 35 per cent in the second quarter of 2025 to 37 per cent in next quarter of the year — are expecting the economy to worsen over the next 12 months. 

Singapore Customs seized 3,100 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes and arrested four Malaysian men, aged between 20 and 39, during an enforcement operation at Pasir Laba Heavy Vehicle Park in Jurong West on Nov 13.The total duty and Goods and Services Tax evaded amounted to about $335,785, Singapore Customs said on Thursday (Nov 27). During the operation, officers conducted checks on a parked tanker and a nearby forested area, where duty-unpaid cigarettes were allegedly being packed into cartons.Checks uncovered 3,100 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes found concealed within the tanker and in the forested area. The duty-unpaid cigarettes were seized.Investigations revealed that a 30-year-old Malaysian man was allegedly hired to drive a prime mover with the tank attached from Malaysia to Singapore, while a 39-year-old Malaysian man was hired to deliver the contraband using a truck.The remaining two men, aged 20 and 21, were allegedly hired by the 39 year-old to act as lookouts, including using a motorcycle to «scout the area» to ensure that it was safe for unloading the contraband.

Five boys have apologised to a Mookata eatery for causing disruption during dinnertime — a day after its owner issued an ultimatum to come forward. In a Facebook post on Monday (Nov 23), Family Mookata said the culprits had ruined food at one of their outlets in Yishun at around 6pm. Besides stealing a tray of eggs and ice pops to throw at each other, the boys also burned wooden chopsticks. «We have captured your faces clearly on our CCTV and we know exactly who you are,» said Family Mookata. «Your behaviour was completely unacceptable. We expect you to come speak with us by tomorrow.»The eatery said that the purpose of the meeting was for the boys to apologise to the staff and compensate for the items that they damaged. «If you choose not to come forward, we will have no choice but to proceed with a police report and address the incident appropriately,» the post said. «The choice is yours.»

SINGAPORE — A full-time national serviceman (NSF) with the Singapore Police Force (SPF) offered cash to two 16-year-old boys and asked if he could perform sexual acts on them.Both boys, identified in court documents as A1 and A2, turned down Muhammad Shafirul Danish Muhammad Shaffie's offers, and he was arrested in July.While out on bail, he made a similar offer to a 15-year-old boy identified as A5, who also turned him down.On Nov 26, Shafirul, 19, pleaded guilty to two counts of communicating with a young person below 18 years old to try and obtain sexual services from him.The offender also admitted to a harassment charge. The Straits Times has contacted SPF to find out if he is still with the force.Deputy Public Prosecutor Lewis Tan told the court that Shafirul befriended A1 on Instagram in November 2024.A1 told him his age, and during a face-to-face meeting in March, Shafirul borrowed $45 from the boy.But instead of repaying the victim the following month, Shafirul repeatedly offered to perform a sexual act on him.He even offered $200 to A1, who turned him down.

A car and a lorry were involved in an accident at the junction of Jalan Besar and Rowell Road on Tuesday (Nov 25), next to Berseh Food Centre — known for its oyster cakes.In a video of the accident posted on TikTok, the badly damaged lorry is seen on the pedestrian walkway outside a traditional Chinese medicine wellness centre at 159 Jalan Besar. Its windscreen and a probationary driving plate are seen on the ground.A few metres away, on the first of the four-lane road, a white Honda Freed multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) is seen with its front bumper dislodged on the left side. The police said they were alerted to the accident at 4.20pm, adding that investigations are ongoing.The Singapore Civil Defence Force said it took one person to Tan Tock Seng Hospital and another person to Raffles Hospital.[[nid:725801]]editor@asiaone.com 

Five boys have apologised to a Mookata eatery for causing disruption during dinnertime — a day after its owner issued an ultimatum to come forward. In a Facebook post on Monday (Nov 23), Family Mookata said the culprits had ruined food at one of their outlets in Yishun at around 6pm. Besides stealing a tray of eggs and ice pops to throw at each other, the boys also burned wooden chopsticks. «We have captured your faces clearly on our CCTV and we know exactly who you are,» said Family Mookata. «Your behaviour was completely unacceptable. We expect you to come speak with us by tomorrow.»The eatery said that the purpose of the meeting was for the boys to apologise to the staff and compensate for the items that they damaged. «If you choose not to come forward, we will have no choice but to proceed with a police report and address the incident appropriately,» the post said. «The choice is yours.»

Singapore’s manufacturing output jumped by 29.1 per cent year-on-year in October as pharmaceuticals saw a surge in production.Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output in October increased by 15.8 per cent, according to data released by the Economic Development Board (EDB) on Wednesday (Nov 26).On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, manufacturing output increased by 11.5 per cent, while output excluding biomedical manufacturing increased by 11.7 per cent.The strongest performance in October came from biomedical manufacturing, which saw a 89.6 per cent hike, fuelled by a 122.9 per cent increase in the pharmaceutical segment.This is due to the higher production of active pharmaceutical ingredients and biological products, said EDB.Meanwhile, the medical technology segment grew 7.3 per cent due to the sustained export demand for medical devices.Transport engineering is the next best performing cluster, which grew by 29.5 per cent year on year.

New requirements for Integrated Shield Plan (IP) riders will be introduced to address rising insurance premiums and private healthcare costs, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Wednesday (Nov 26). From April 1, 2026, IP riders sold will no longer be able to cover the minimum deductibles set by MOH. Additionally, the minimum co-payment for riders will be raised to $6,000 per year, up from the $3,000 miminum cap set in 2018, to keep pace with the increase in bill sizes over time. The new cap applies to co-payments excluding the minimum IP deductible. Both the deductible and co-payments can be paid using MediSave, and the minimum 5 per cent co-payment requirement remains unchanged. An Integrated Shield Plan (IP) is an optional private medical insurance plan that supplements the mandatory MediShield Life coverage. 

Cord blood banking services Cordlife Group will no longer be allowed to collect, test, process and store new cord blood from Wednesday (Nov 26), said the Ministry of Health (MOH).Cordlife will only be permitted to maintain the storage of existing cord blood units (CBUs), according to the Notice of Regulatory Action issued by the ministry.Cordlife will be allowed to perform limited actions in relation to such existing units, such as facilitating the transfer of these existing CBUs to other cord blood banks and disposal of existing CBUs in accordance with its clients' instructions.This follows MOH's Notice of Intent issued on Sept 29 on the intended suspension of Cordlife's licence and its subsequent written representations to the ministry.[[nid:723305]]Cordlife had not adequately addressed the concerns raised during the ministry's mid-point audit this July to continue providing the service in a safe, clinically and ethically appropriate manner.

Two blocks of post-war flats built in 1949 in Tiong Bahru narrowly fell short of qualifying for the Home Improvement Programme (HIP), said MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC Foo Cexiang.In a Facebook post on Tuesday (Nov 25), Foo shared that the poll for the Tiong Bahru Seng Poh neighbourhood had concluded two weekends ago, with 29 blocks taking part.«27 blocks achieved the 75 per cent threshold of units agreeing to proceed, two blocks fell narrowly short,» said Foo.He added that the results represented a «remarkable turnaround,» calling it the «most challenging yet heartwarming HIP exercise in Singapore yet».He explained that in 2019, HDB conducted a straw poll for HIP for the same 29 blocks, but despite months of effort, 10 of the blocks were still unable to cross the 75 per cent threshold. As such, a decision was made to defer the HIP.Foo highlighted several contributing challenges, such as a sizeable proportion of units in the neighbourhood being tenanted.

SINGAPORE — A 49-year-old renovation contractor who raped a woman at her home after she contacted him to carry out repair works in her flat was sentenced on Nov 26 to 12 years and three weeks in jail, and 13 strokes of the cane.The man, Koh Lee Hwa, had claimed trial to four charges: one count of rape, one count of sexual assault by penetration and two counts of outrage of modesty.He denied that he had initiated physical contact by suddenly hugging her without her consent, insisting that he was a «righteous and upright person».Koh claimed that they had consensual sex after the woman made the first move by pulling his arm.He said the sexual encounter was not rape because it took slightly over 10 minutes, which he compared with the «standard» length of time for sex between him and his wife.Koh also claimed that the woman uttered the single word «money» as he was leaving her flat, seemingly insinuating that she was trying to get money from him.These arguments were found to be «devoid of merit» by High Court Judge Mavis Chionh, who found him guilty of all four charges on Oct 28.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) has ordered Meta and TikTok to disable former Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee Zulfikar Mohamad Shariff's Facebook and TikTok accounts.In a statement on Wednesday (Nov 26), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that Meta — the parent company of Facebook — and TikTok were respectively issued a disabling direction, and account restriction direction, under the Online Criminal Harms Act (Ocha).Ocha came into force in February 2024 and allows the Government to remove criminal content online.MHA explained that the directions were issued over Zulfikar's repeated attempts to stir up discontent within the local Malay/Muslim community against the Chinese community in Singapore.«He has incited feelings of enmity, hatred, ill-will and hostility against, contempt for and ridicule on different racial and religious groups in Singapore,» MHA said.According to MHA, the government has received numerous feedback from members of public, including several police reports, that Zulfikar's posts threaten racial and religious harmony in Singapore.

SINGAPORE — President Tharman Shanmugaratnam will be receiving an award from an American research centre in recognition of his leadership in international financial policy.The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Golub Center for Finance and Policy is awarding Tharman the Miriam Pozen Prize, the MIT Sloan Office of Communications said on Nov 25. He will be the third recipient of the biennial prize.Tharman will deliver the Miriam Pozen Lecture at an award ceremony on Dec 9 that will be held at the MIT Sloan School of Management.He will receive a $200,000 prize and a fellowship named in his honour will also be awarded to an incoming MIT Sloan Master of Business Administration student, selected in 2026.Tharman's work in this area has spanned decades. Over more than 20 years in politics, his roles included Senior Minister, Coordinating Minister for Social and Economic Policies, Deputy Prime Minister as well as Finance and Education Minister. He also chaired the Monetary Authority of Singapore from 2011 to 2023, and was its managing director before entering politics in 2001.

Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers foiled an attempt to smuggle in over 1,200 heat sticks, e-vaporisers and related components via Changi Airport Terminal 3 on Sunday (Nov 23).In a Facebook post on Tuesday (Nov 25), ICA said that the case involved a 39-year-old South Korean woman who holds a Singapore employment pass.ICA officers asked the woman if she had anything to declare prior to baggage screening, but she said she had nothing to declare and officers proceeded with a check on her belongings.Two e-vaporisers, more than 50 e-vaporiser pods and over 1,200 heat sticks were found among her belongings, ICA added.Heat sticks refer to cylindrical tobacco products that can be placed within an electronic device that increases the temperature of the stick, releasing an aerosol containing nicotine and tobacco.The case has been referred to the Health Sciences Authority for further investigation.Under the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act, the possession, use or purchase of vapes carries a maximum fine of $2,000.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) booked more than 140 heavy vehicles in islandwide enforcement operations in November for offences such as overloading and travelling on expressways without permits. In a Facebook post on Tuesday (Nov 25), the authority said that 60 vehicles were caught travelling on expressways without valid permits.«Such vehicles can obstruct traffic and damage road structures due to their size and weight,» it added. Meanwhile, 85 heavy vehicles were found carrying loads beyond what is allowed.Overloaded vehicles pose serious risks, such as goods spilling onto the road or compromising the vehicle’s handling.LTA said such actions endanger others and damage roads.

SMRT will be providing shuttle bus services for commuters during the upcoming disruption of its train services on the East–West Line between Bedok and Tampines stations, as well as between Tanah Merah and Expo stations, from Nov 29 to Dec 8.Shuttle 7 will operate between Bedok, Tanah Merah, Simei and Tampines stations at a frequency of 3 to 5 minutes, while Shuttle 8 will operate between Bedok, Tanah Merah and Expo stations at a frequency of about 10 minutes. The shuttle buses will charge the same fares as train journeys, said the public transport operator in a statement on Tuesday (Nov 25).The closure of train tracks between the affected MRT stations is for construction works to connect the tracks from the existing East–West Line to the upcoming East Coast Integrated Depot (ECID). The works will also link a new platform at Tanah Merah station during that period.