A woman who was filmed spitting water onto other commuters and the floor of a MRT train in a viral video last week was charged at the State Courts on Wednesday (Jan 28). Sabrina Han Meizhen, a 37-year-old Singaporean, was charged with one count of being a public nuisance by spitting water at a female passenger and on the train, causing annoyance to her and other members of the public. Han allegedly committed the crime on Jan 16 at about 7.57am at Choa Chu Kang MRT station, according to her charge sheet. 

The Commissioner of Charities (COC) has launched an inquiry into Animal Lovers League (ALL), one of Singapore's pioneer animal welfare groups, following its non-compliance with the Charities Act.In a statement on Wednesday (Jan 28), the COC reiterated its earlier remarks from last December, that its commissioner has been looking into the governance and administration of ALL, following feedback.ALL, which was set up in 2002, has been a registered charity since Jan 30, 2015.The COC said ALL has not complied with the Charities Act, including the «persistent» non-submission of annual reports, and its failure to furnish specified documents and information relating to the charity.«Therefore, the office of the COC has decided to conduct an inquiry into ALL to look into the feedback comprehensively,» it said.ALL had lost its tenancy at The Animal Lodge in Sungei Tengah — a facility run by the Animal and Veterinary Service (AVS) that supports animal welfare groups and independent shelters.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) will be sounding the «important message» signal through the islandwide Public Warning System (PWS) on Feb 1 at 3pm. Usually held on Feb 15 at 6.20pm, the one-off change in date is to mark the commencement of Exercise SG Ready 2026 in support of Total Defence Day, SCDF said in a statement on Wednesday (Jan 28). The signal will also sound for 20 seconds on all smartphones with the SGSecure mobile app, accompanied by a brief text message on the PWS sounding. Users must enable the app's notification and alert settings to receive the signal and message. Members of the public should immediately tune in to any local FM radio station or Mediacorp TV channel for a Total Defence message, said SCDF. [[nid:728219]]esther.lam@asiaone.com  

A video showing a male driver of a SF Express delivery van cutting off a white Hyundai hatchback along Kallang Way, and then getting off to kick the car and try to open the driver's door has emerged on social media.Dashcam footage posted by Facebook page SG Road Vigilante showed a man wearing a black shirt chasing after the white car outside Mapletree Hi-Tech Park at 163 Kallang Way.

A Malaysian man almost faced a travel nightmare after losing his wallet and passport at a cafe in Singapore on Jan 21. Speaking to AsiaOne on Wednesday (Jan 28), Mohana Marugiah, 45, recounted the day he feared he might not be able to return home. «I was completely clueless. It happened after I visited a temple and stopped by The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf at Forum Mall (on Orchard Road) to get a hot chocolate before heading back to my hotel,» said the secondary school teacher. «When I returned to the hotel, I started getting back to work and took out my lecture notes before ending the night.» Remaining unaware of what he had lost until the following morning, Mohana said he was stunned to receive a Facebook message the following day from a stranger. 

While Singapore and Hong Kong compete in some areas, there is also scope for the two cities to collaborate and learn from one another to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes, said Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat.Chee, who is also the deputy chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore board of directors, was writing in two Facebook posts as he wraps up a four-day working visit to Hong Kong on Wednesday (Jan 28).After a meeting with senior representatives from Singapore banks and leading global financial institutions in Hong Kong on Tuesday, Chee emphasised the importance of public and private sectors working together.«Our exchanges underscored the importance of deepening global partnerships across government and the private sector, and working together to add value for investors and businesses across Asia,» wrote Chee.He added that while Singapore and Hong Kong do compete in some areas, there remains scope for the two cities to collaborate and achieve «win-win benefits» for both, riding on Asia's growth.

The Government will address issues of public concern at Budget 2026, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.In a video on Tuesday (Jan 27), PM Wong said that he and his team have engaged Singaporeans from all walks of life about the upcoming Budget.«We have heard your aspirations and also your concerns about the uncertain external environment, the impact of technology and AI on jobs and also on cost pressures that you face,» he said in the 38-second video.PM Wong emphasised that feedback and views from the public have been taken into consideration when constructing Budget 2026.The video also featured footage of other MPs such as Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Manpower Shawn Huang, Leader of the House Indranee Rajah and Acting Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow engaging with members of the public at various events.Budget 2026 will be the first Budget since GE2025 concluded in May and Cabinet changes were made.PM Wong will deliver the Budget 2026 statement in Parliament on Feb 12.

A total of 13 people were taken to hospital after an accident on Orchard Road on Wednesday (Jan 28) morning. Photos shared on social media showed a car and lorry on the pavement in front of the Apple store at the junction of Orchard Road and Orchard Link. Several officers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) were at the scene.  Responding to AsiaOne’s queries, the SCDF said that it was alerted to the accident at about 6.20am. Six people were taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital and the rest to Singapore General Hospital.Another five persons were assessed for minor injuries but declined to be taken to hospital. AsiaOne has contacted the police for comment. [[nid:709975]]

SINGAPORE — On a quiet stretch off Li Hwan Drive, a pre-school is fighting to stay open.Founded by Loy Wee Mee in 2008, Pre-School By-The-Park @ Li Hwan has seen enrolment falling. In November 2025, it announced that it would shut its doors for good.To stay open, the privately run centre needs to enrol 40 new pupils by April 2026.A group of 52 parents stepped up and convinced Loy to hold an open house on Jan 24.These «Parents By-The-Park» took it upon themselves to publicise the pre-school, creating social media videos, putting up banners and distributing fliers around the neighbourhood.For years, the centre relied largely on word of mouth and did not advertise itself.Loy, who is in her fifties, said: «That's how we've grown. We have some social media (presence), but mostly it's been parents recommending us to other parents.»A space for child-led learning and nurturing curiosityOne of the parents involved is Low Li Ning, 36.Her four-year-old son enrolled at 18 months old and has been at the centre for more than two years.

A 19-year-old man was arrested on Monday (Jan 26) for his alleged involvement in a series of loanshark harassment cases.He was caught after the police were alerted to a case at about 4.50pm at a residential unit in Sengkang, the police said on Tuesday (Jan 27).A photograph of the scene provided by the police shows the main door of the victim's unit splashed with red paint. The main gate and steps leading to the unit were also affected.The suspect was identified within four hours of the report through follow-up investigations by officers from the Bedok Police Division and the Police Operations Command Centre, aided by police cameras.Preliminary investigations revealed that he is also believed to be involved in at least four similar cases of loanshark harassment island-wide, the police added.He will be charged in court on Wednesday.The offence of loanshark harassment carries a penalty of imprisonment of up to five years and a fine of up to $50,000.In addition, those found guilty may receive up to six strokes of the cane.[[nid:727825]]editor@asiaone.com 

Bus commuters can expect the Expected Time of Arrival (ETA) system for buses to be mostly available by Wednesday (Jan 28) morning, although more time is now required for a full restoration, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA). In an update issued on Tuesday evening, the transport regulator said that its engineers and contractors have completed the manual updating of firmware for the 3,000 buses that were identified last week. «The availability of bus arrival timings will be restored to 85 per cent by tomorrow morning,» said LTA. The authority added that bus services will continue to operate as usual. System to be fully restored next week: LTAThe root cause, a memory cache build-up in the on-board system of some buses, had disrupted data transmissions between on-board bus systems and the central ETA processing servers. According to LTA, this led to the issue of missing bus arrival timings. 

Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan will make a two-day visit to the Philippines from Wednesday (Jan 28) to attend an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) retreat for foreign ministers and related meetings. In a statement on Tuesday, Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said the visit, from Jan 28 to 29, is at the invitation of the Philippines Secretary of Foreign Affairs Theresa Lazaro. Apart from the foreign ministers' retreat, Dr Balakrishnan will also attend the informal consultation on the implementation of the Asean Five-Point Consensus, and the extended informal consultation on the consensus. The consensus was issued by Asean leaders following their meeting in April 2021. It calls for the immediate cessation of violence in Myanmar; constructive dialogue to seek a peaceful solution; the appointment of a special envoy to facilitate mediation of the dialogue process; humanitarian assistance; and visits by the special envoy to meet with parties in the ongoing Myanmar conflict. 

A brand of biscuits meant for babies aged 10 months and above is being recalled after the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) was informed of the potential presence of foreign matter in the form of soft plastic and/or paper pieces in the biscuits. Nestle Singapore, the importer of the affected product — Gerber's arrowroot biscuits — has been directed to recall the implicated product, the agency said in a news release on Tuesday (Jan 27). Three batches of the USA-made product are being recalled. Product nameBatch numberPackaging sizeExpiry dateGerber arrowroot biscuits5209565504155gOct 27, 2026Gerber arrowroot biscuits5252565505155gDec 9, 2026Gerber arrowroot biscuits5259565505155gDec 16, 2026SFA said that foods known to unsafe for consumption should not be sold, adding that consumers who have purchased the implicated products are advised not to feed it to their children.