A Muay Thai studio in Bencoolen is appealing to netizens for help to find the culprits after its banner was damaged overnight.Benjamin Lim, co-founder of MT30, a kickboxing gym located in GR.iD mall, uploaded CCTV footage of the incident on his personal Instagram account late last month.Timestamps on the footage indicate that the incident occurred on Nov 11 at 6.05am, showing two men standing outside the glass doors at the entrance of the studio.A man in a white T-shirt appears hunched over, and grabs onto the banner to support himself while his friend in a black hoodie seems to console him.The man in white proceeds to tug on the banner in a fit of rage, causing it to crumple to the ground.He subsequently pushes his friend away and slams his arms onto the glass wall before walking away from the fitness studio.Police report lodgedSpeaking to AsiaOne, Lim said that he only noticed the damaged banner after reaching the studio the next day.Mall security was also aware of the incident, and a police report has been made, he said.

A 39-year-old Malaysian man has been arrested for attempting to smuggle drugs through Woodlands Checkpoint last Monday evening (Dec 22).In a joint statement released on Monday (Dec 29), the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) said a total of seven bundles believed to contain controlled drugs were found on him.The bundles were assessed to contain more than 3.2kg of cannabis and 1.7kg of Ice.The drugs seized were estimated to be worth more than $237,000, and could potentially feed the addiction of about 1,440 abusers for a week.Based on information received from the ICA's integrated targeting centre, he was referred for enhanced checks, where officers found two black bundles believed to contain controlled drugs in his bag.Officers from the CNB were immediately alerted and further checks led to the recovery of the drugs.

Selling items online? Beware of suspicious links sent by fake buyers under the guise of making payment or arranging delivery, the police have warned.In an advisory issued on Monday (Dec 29), they said that at least 223 people have fallen for this phishing scam variant since November, with total losses reaching at least $622,000.In these cases, victims would receive a phishing link from scammers posing as interested buyers and will be asked to provide their personal information such as banking credentials and card details on the webpage.Subsequently, they would realise that unauthorised transactions had been made on their bank cards, including transfers to overseas cryptocurrency service providers like Binance, BTCC and ByBit.Members of the public are urged to exercise extra caution when selling items on online platforms, and not provide banking details, card details or any other confidential information to unknown individuals.Online sellers are strongly encouraged to meet buyers in person to complete the transaction.

Eighteen town councils will receive a total of $1.8 million to their service and conservancy charges (S&CC) operating grant due to a discrepancy in the distribution of grants over a 14-year period, the Ministry of National Development (MND) said on Monday (Dec 29). The amounts awarded to each town council range from $22,000 to $383,000, and will be disbursed by Jan 31 next year. This one-off adjustment arose from a discrepancy in each year's disbursement computation from financial year 2011 to 2024, which led to a shortfall in the amount of grants distributed to the affected town councils over that period. The shortfall was discovered by the Housing and Development Board during an internal review of the grant computation process, said MND. The grant amount for each financial year is calculated using household data before the start of the year. It is then adjusted to account for changes in the number of households during the year. 

Four people, including a baby, were taken to hospital following an accident along the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) on Sunday (Dec 28).A video posted on TikTok showed the aftermath of the accident, with traffic piling up on the expressway and police cars and ambulances at the scene.At least four vehicles were involved in the chain collision, and police could be seen speaking with some of the drivers. 

Large crowds are expected around the Marina Bay and Kallang Basin areas on New Year's Eve and the police will be implementing security and traffic arrangements such as crowd control measures, enhanced patrols, and road closures to keep partygoers safe.In an advisory on Sunday (Dec 28), the police said the arrangements will be in place from the evening of Dec 31.«Police officers, auxiliary police officers, and security officers will be deployed to ensure the safety and security of the public, as well as to manage crowds in the vicinity of Marina Bay and The Kallang.»Certain entrances and exits of MRT stations around Marina Bay and Kallang Basin will be closed to regulate crowd flow, and the police advised using other stations such as Esplanade, Promenade, Downtown, Marina Bay, Kallang and Mountbatten MRT stations. «Trains may bypass some stations, such as Bayfront and Stadium MRT station, to divert crowds away from these affected areas,» the police said.

A man in Singapore lost $3,999 to a scam on TikTok, after believing a woman who claimed to be held captive in Singapore. In a Dec 27 report by Shin Min Daily News, a 49-year-old air-con technician surnamed Lin (transliterated) said he was scrolling on TikTok when he received a message on Dec 16 from a woman claiming to be from Guangdong, China.She told him she had lost $20,000 to an investment scam three months after arriving in Singapore and was being held hostage after not being able repay the amount to her 'boss'.Lin said while the woman had asked him for financial help right from the beginning, he remained vigilant and did not make any promises.She would also call him «dear» and promised to be his girlfriend if he helped to clear her debt, he said.However, his heart softened when she called him crying, claiming she would be forced into prostitution if she didn’t pay up.He told Shin Min that he had requested to speak to her through video call multiple times during the course of their interaction, but she told him she wasn’t allowed to do so.

SINGAPORE - The Workers' Party leadership is looking into a request from a cadre member to hold a special meeting.The opposition party said in a statement on Dec 28 that a request to hold a special cadre members' conference was submitted.Party chairwoman Sylvia Lim has acknowledged the request of the cadre member, added the WP, which was responding to a media query.The central executive committee (CEC) — comprising 19 members, including its 13 elected MPs — will be following up on the request in accordance with the party's Constitution, it said.The party's Constitution on its website states that a special cadre members' conference can be called at any time by the party's chair, the CEC, or 10 per cent of the cadre membership or at least 20 cadre members, whichever is higher.Past estimates of the number of WP cadres have reported the figure as at about 100. Only cadre members, who are appointed by the CEC, can be present at cadre members' conferences and to vote.It is not clear if the request was put forward by a sufficient number of cadres.

Singapore Pools, the city state's only legal lottery operator, will be holding its 2026 New Year draw on Friday (Jan 2).According to the Singapore Pools' website, the draw will be held at 9.30pm at the Singapore Pools Building along Middle Road.Sales for the draw will close 30 minutes prior.Sale of $10 and $20 lottery packs will begin from 6.10pm onwards on Dec 29.One winner walked away with a prize money of over $5.5 million in the 2025 New Year draw.[[nid:725128]]editor@asiaone.com