He owns a card purportedly worth over $1 million — equivalent to a piece of private property in Singapore — but he isn't about to sell it just yet. At the recently concluded Singapore Card Show, held at the Singapore Expo over two days from Dec 13 to 14, one collectible in particular stole the limelight — a Japanese Pikachu Illustrator Promo card. The card — owned by Singaporean card collector, Chew Zhan Lun, 33 — is considered one of the «holy grails» in the Pokemon card-collecting world due to its rarity. Chew, who is the co-founder of card trading platform CTRL Collectibles, told media at the event that he had rejected a US$1 million (S$1.3 million) offer just last week by an individual to purchase the card. Speaking to AsiaOne on Tuesday (Dec 16), Chew shared that he had bought the card for «around $600,000» from a private collector. Why so expensive?According to Sports Illustrated, the cards were awarded to winners of a comic illustration contest in Japan in 1997 and 1998, with only 39 copies of it believed to exist. 

Donations have been rolling in for the Boys' Brigade Share-a-Gift charity initiative, but help is needed to deliver gift hampers to low-income families. The urgent public appeal for volunteers was put out by The Boys' Brigade on Tuesday (Dec 16), which revealed that only about a quarter of its daily delivery slots have been filled. «At this point, we are still 75 per cent away from meeting our daily delivery targets,» said project chairman Henry Tan in a statement. «We kindly urge the public to join us as delivery volunteers, and continue supporting our online donations, so that we can fulfil the wishes of all 40,251 beneficiaries and bring Christmas joy to the homes in need.» According to its website, food hampers will be distributed to 10,586 of the beneficiaries. Hamper distribution started on Dec 9 and will continue until Dec 26, except on Christmas Eve and Christmas. A check by AsiaOne found that multiple time slots through Dec 18 to 26 are still open for signups for vehicle owners. 

The current wet weather in Singapore is likely to continue for the rest of December due to the prevailing northeast moon, the Meteorological Service Singapore said on Tuesday (Dec 16). Thundery showers are expected in the afternoon on most days, extending into the evening on some days. On a few days, the showers could be widespread and heavy, added the weatherman. The total rainfall is expected to be near average over most parts of the island — with daily maximum temperatures between 32 deg C and 34 deg C on most days. The first half of December also saw mostly thundery showers. Temperatures were similar — at between 32 deg C and 34 deg C, with a high of 34.5 deg C recorded at Newton on Dec 5. On Dec 4, heavy thundery showers affected many parts of the island in the afternoon, with a total rainfall of 134.2mm — the highest rainfall recorded for the first half of December — in Jurong West. [[nid:726094]]editor@asiaone.com 

A Singaporean man lost all his digital assets of at least $100,000 after being tricked into downloading a 'beta game launcher' which contained malware.Phishing scam victim Mark Koh, 44, told Lianhe Zaobao on Monday (Dec 15) that he is an angel investor interested in Web3 — a term describing the next generation of the internet, one which is decentralised and blockchain-based.Angel investors are individuals who support the funding of startups or entrepreneurs, typically in exchange for equity.Koh explained that he had seen a Telegram message about a new project called «MetaToy» and got into contact with a user named «Shanni», who reportedly claimed to be co-founder of the «Meta team».He said the user patiently answered his questions about the game project and did not pressure him.«As someone who has evaluated countless Web3 projects, I believed I could identify scams, and this project looked legitimate,» he told Zaobao.The man subsequently downloaded a «game launcher» provided by «Shanni». Unknown to him at that time, he had downloaded malware targeting his crypto wallets.

SINGAPORE — An online post in September 2025, which made allegations of workplace bullying at the Law Society of Singapore, has sparked an ongoing probe at the organisation.The Straits Times understands the allegations come in the wake of a spate of resignations at the Law Society in 2025, with about a third of more than 70 full-time employees leaving their jobs.A chief executive had quit less than four months into the job. Separately, the departure of a long-time senior executive spurred further resignations.At one point in time, the human resources department was unstaffed.The investigation, which is being conducted by TSMP Law Corporation, was commissioned by the Law Society's audit committee in September.When asked about the probe, TSMP's joint managing partner, Senior Counsel Thio Shen Yi, said a progress report has been submitted to the audit committee.He declined to give further details.ST understands a number of former and current employees were interviewed between October and December.A number of other issues were highlighted during the probe.

PATTAYA — Singapore's Olympic bronze medallist Maximilian Maeder has claimed the kitefoiling gold at the SEA Games on Dec 16 with a day to spare after a perfect run in 12 races in the waters off Jomtien Beach.There will be four more races on Dec 17 but the SEA Games debutant has an unassailable lead over his rivals.Thailand's Joseph Weston currently sits second, ahead of Warner Janoya of the Philippines and Indonesia's Wayan Wiranatha.The 19-year-old Singaporean has had a year of change after the Paris Olympics in 2024, where he clinched a bronze medal.Maeder switched his coaching set-up ahead of his next Games bid in Los Angeles in 2028.After spending five years with coach Ivica Dolenc, he began training with the Swiss team under coach Matthieu Girolet in mid-2025.His 2025 campaign has seen some highs and lows. He first retained his Trofeo Princesa Sofia Regatta title in April, before placing second at the French Olympic Week.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will be replacing its older diesel buses with more than 600 new electric buses that will be rolled out progressively for passenger service from end-2026. Six contracts for a total of 660 new electric buses, comprising 360 single-deck and 300 double-deck buses, were awarded by LTA to four tenderers including BYD and ST Engineering Mobility Services, said LTA in a news release on Monday (Dec 15). The contracts are valued at over $320 million and mark LTA's first large-scale purchase of electric double-deck buses. «LTA is committed to having a 100% cleaner energy bus fleet by 2040,» said the authority, adding that electric buses are expected to make up half of the public bus fleet by 2030. The new buses will feature improved battery technology and capacity, enabling the buses to travel over longer ranges and operate more efficiently. Each bus will also be equipped with a passenger information display system that provides real-time audio and visual updates to assist commuters with navigation throughout their journey. 

SINGAPORE — A man who crashed his car near his home after consuming alcohol asked his passenger to get him a bottle of alcohol from his apartment.Court documents stated that Claire Sng Wei Ying returned with a gym shaker bottle containing gin and Samuel Gomes-Lim Jia'En, 35 then drank almost all of its contents.As a result, a Traffic Police officer could not determine his actual breath alcohol concentration at the time of the accident.On Dec 15, Sng, 27, was fined $10,000 after she pleaded guilty to performing an act that could obstruct the course of justice. Gomes-Lim's case is still pending.Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Teng Yin Hang told the court that shortly before the accident, the pair had lunch at a Sentosa beach at around 2pm on April 14, 2024, and shared two cans of alcoholic soda, among other things.The pair left the beach about three hours later and entered the car.The DPP said that Gomes-Lim was entering his condominium complex in the Dairy Farm area at around 6pm when the vehicle crashed into a pillar.Gomes-Lim and Sng then exited the car and took a lift to an unspecified floor at the property.

The Bondi Beach shooting on Sunday (Dec 14) presents a stark reminder for Singapore — as history has shown — that hate speech has «real and serious consequences», said Coordinating Minister for National Security K Shanmugam.In a Facebook post on Dec 15, Shanmugam, who is also the Minister for Home Affairs, said that while the precise causes and reasons for the attack in Sydney are not known yet, hate speech has often been one underlying cause in other cases. «It creates an environment more prone to violence,» said Shanmugam, noting that the Executive Council of Australian Jewry had indicated in a special report on Dec 2 that the number of reported antisemitic incidents in Australia has continued at «unprecedently high levels» for a second consecutive year. Australia is among the world's seven largest Jewish diaspora communities in the world. 

No matter how you prefer your kopi or tea made, the caffeinated beverages are priced the same at this food court in Bras Basah. A hot cup of coffee or tea — no matter the choice of milk — costs $2. The iced version is $2.60, reported Shin Min Daily News on Monday (Dec 15). According to the report, the drinks stall at Bras Basah Complex's Shifu Food Court recently came under online scrutiny for its standardised pricing. Some netizens pointed out that beverages with no milk are typically priced lower than those containing condensed milk or evaporated milk. In response, stall owner Li Yuanquan (transliteration) highlighted to Shin Min the various discounts available for students, hotel guests and members of the complex's merchants association. For example, students can get a cup of hot coffee or tea at $1.60, and the iced version at $2.30. «We set a fixed price so when calculating discounts, it's easier and more efficient to calculate. The drinks we brew using our coffee maker are also of good quality,» he added. 

If you are celebrating Christmas Eve with your family and friends and are thinking about how to get to your destination thereafter, there's good news. Transport operators SBS Transit and SMRT will extend the operational hours of their train services on Christmas Eve (Dec 24). In addition, the operational hours of 56 bus services will also be extended on that day.NSL, EWL, CCL and TEL Train services on SMRT's North-South Line, East-West Line, Circle Line and Thomson-East Coast Line will be extended for those travelling by rail.The last train departing from the North-South Line's Orchard MRT station will leave at 1.15am, while the last train departing from the East-West Line's City Hall MRT station will depart at 1.21am.On the Circle Line, the last train leaving from Dhoby Ghaut and HarbourFront MRT stations are at 12.47am and 12.43am respectively. The last train departing from Woodlands North and Bayshore MRT stations on the Thomson-East Coast Line are at 12.48am and 1am respectively.There will be no extension for Bukit Panjang LRT and Changi Airport services.

Apple users should update the mobile operating system software of their devices, said the Singapore Cyber Emergency Response Team (SingCert) on Sunday (Dec 14). The advisory follows the finding of two zero-day vulnerabilities in Apples' WebKit, which SingCert says have been exploited in attacks. «Users and administrators of affected Apple devices are strongly advised to update to the latest software versions immediately,» said SingCert in its advisory. Apple WebKit is an open-source web rendering engine used to power the Safari web browser on Apple's computing and mobile devices — macOS, iPadOS, and iOS. The two WebKit vulnerabilities identified — CVE-2025-43529 and CVE-2025-14174 — affects the following products:

A 55-year-old man was arrested on Sunday (Dec 14) for his suspected involvement in a case of housebreaking and theft.The alleged theft took place at about 11.42am earlier that day at a food and beverage establishment along Chun Tin Road.In a statement on Dec 15, the police said more than $155 in cash was stolen from the business, adding that the suspect was identified with the aid of images from police cameras and follow-up investigations.He was arrested within seven hours of the report and the stolen cash was recovered and seized by the police.The suspect will be charged in court on Dec 16.If found guilty of housebreaking and theft, the man could be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.[[nid:726340]]editor@asiaone.com