People's Park Centre in Chinatown has raised their weekday daytime parking fees by 75 per cent as a Chinese New Year surcharge. Parking rates have risen to $4.20 per hour on weekdays — from 7am to 4.59pm — reported Shin Min Daily News. Evening per-entry fees — from 5pm to 6.59am the next day — have also risen to $5.80 on weekdays, and $6.80 on Fridays and weekends. Normally, it would cost $2.40 per hour from Monday to Saturday, and $3 per entry on Sundays and public holidays. Wilson Parking, the car park's management company, said that the new fees were imposed on Jan 22 and will be in effect till Feb 23, reported the Chinese evening daily.  An elderly man, who wished to beknown as Terry, told Mothership that he had incurred a $10 parking fee for a 30-minute period. He had parked his car at People's Park Centre from 4.48pm to 5.18pm last Monday (Jan 26), thus incurring a fee of $4.20 for the period before 5pm, and and $5.80 per entry after 5pm. Many businesses at People's Park Centre were unaware of the updated carpark rates, reported Shin Min. 

SINGAPORE — A woman, who was fined $4,000 in 2022 after harassing her neighbour — a nurse — amid the Covid-19 outbreak, now faces 12 charges for unrelated offences including multiple counts of assault.Lim Sok Lay, 53, who was fined another $4,000 in 2025 after she caused a ruckus at her son's lion dance competition, is accused of committing her latest offences in 2024 and 2025.She allegedly committed some of her offences with Jolene Cheang Wan Ling, 29, but court documents did not disclose how the pair were related to each other.The cases involving both women were heard in court on Feb 5, and Cheang now faces 11 charges in all.According to court documents, the two women were at One Punggol community hub in Punggol Drive between 9.30am and 10.15am on Sept 24, 2024 when they allegedly punched a person in the head and chased after another individual.They are also accused of causing annoyance to others in the area that morning by shouting and gesticulating at a third person.Lim was at the community hub on April 6, 2025 when she allegedly committed harassment by pointing her fingers and shouting at a fourth person — a woman.

The vehicle entry permit (VEP) fee for foreign vehicles to enter Singapore is slated to increase at the start of 2027, according to a press release by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Friday (Feb 6).VEP fees for foreign-registered cars and motorcycles entering Singapore will be raised to $50 per day and $7 per day respectively, up from $35 and $4.The VEP fee will apply on all days, except on weekends and Singapore public holidays from Jan 1, 2027.The current annual 10 free VEP days and free weekday VEP hours will also be removed.Additionally, the goods vehicle permit (GVP) will also see a raise from $40 to $70 per calendar month come January next year.Owners of foreign-registered goods vehicles can still purchase their GVPs at the present price before the revised fee comes into effect.LTA explained that it periodically reviews fees for foreign-registered vehicles in Singapore to account for changes in ownership and usage costs of Singapore-registered ones.«This is to ensure that the cost of owning and using a foreign-registered vehicle in Singapore is commensurate with that of a Singapore-registered vehicle,» LTA said.

A car caught fire at Orchard Towers on Thursday (Feb 5) evening, causing damage in the car park, according to multiple video posts on Reddit that night.In one video uploaded by user DoraEnzo, thick black smoke can be seen billowing out from the second floor of the car park.The second floor also glowed a visible orange hue as the fire raged on.The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) told AsiaOne that it was alerted to a fire at 1 Claymore Drive at around 10.40pm that night.A car was involved in the fire, and the SCDF subsequently extinguished the flame with a water jet and fire blanket.No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.Porsche on fireSpeaking with AsiaOne at the scene, a man claiming to be the owner of the vehicle shared that it was an olive green Porsche Panamera that had just come out from a workshop after he noticed issues with the car's throttle body.The alleged owner, who declined to be named, shared that he had spent nearly $30,000 over several months while the vehicle was repeatedly sent to that workshop.

A 36-year-old Malaysian driver was arrested after the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) foiled an attempt to smuggle chewing tobacco into Singapore on Jan 28. In a Facebook post on Thursday (Feb 5), the authority said that ICA officers directed a Malaysia-registered car for further checks, and uncovered more than 6,000 sachets of chewing tobacco concealed within various compartments of the vehicle.The 36-year-old male was arrested in connection with the case, which has been referred to the Health Sciences Authority for further investigation, said ICA.  Chewing tobacco is prohibited by law in Singapore.[[nid:729307]]esther.lam@asiaone.com 

Travellers should anticipate heavy traffic at Singapore's land checkpoints during the upcoming Lunar New Year, said the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA).In a travel advisory on Friday (Feb 6), ICA said that «very heavy traffic» is expected at both Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints leading up to the festive season from Feb 13 to Feb 23.With reference to the recent year-end school holidays, ICA said that over 22 million people travelled across Singapore's land checkpoints between Nov 21, 2025 and Jan 1, 2026.In particular, traveller volume peaked on Dec 19 with a record number of more than 588,000 travellers clearing immigration through the land checkpoints in a single day — the highest in the year. Car travellers who departed during the peak hours had to wait up to three hours for immigration clearance due to traffic tailbacks from Malaysia, ICA said.ICA also said that it will be conducting intensified checks against the smuggling of contraband, such as e-vaporisers, firecrackers and bak kwa during the festive period.

A 28-year-old man was arrested on Feb 4 for fleeing an accident on Paya Lebar Road while driving under the influence of drugs.Responding to queries from AsiaOne, the police and Singapore Civil Defence Force said that they were alerted to an accident involving two cars along Upper Paya Lebar Road towards Paya Lebar Road at about 3.40pm on Feb 4. The male driver fled the vehicle on foot but was subsequently arrested by officers for driving under the influence of drugs and carrying offensive weapons, said the police. The man was assessed by SCDF for minor injuries but declined to be taken to the hospital.A 37-year-old female driver involved in the accident was taken conscious to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.A video of the accident aftermath posted on TikTok shows a black sedan toppled on its side, with several police cars present at the scene.@the.irta

Singapore and China are looking to deepen cooperation in the fight against scams and drug trafficking, said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).In a media release on Thursday (Feb 5), the ministry said that Coordinating Minister for National Security K Shanmugam visited China from Jan 31 to Feb 3.During the visit, Shanmugam, who is also the Minister for Home Affairs, met with China's Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission Chen Wenqing.Chen oversees national security and intelligence and is a member of the Chinese Communist Party's political bureau. The two leaders reaffirmed the good working relationship between Chinese and Singapore agencies and discussed ways to deepen law enforcement cooperation in the areas of combatting scams and countering drug trafficking.They also agreed to step up regular exchanges to further strengthen relations, MHA said.Shanmugam also met with his MHA counterpart, Chinese State Councillor and Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong.

Eighty people aged between 14 and 72 are under investigation for their alleged involvement in unlicensed moneylending activities, the police said on Thursday (Feb 5).They were arrested during a five-day operation from Jan 26 to 30, when officers from the Criminal Investigation Department and seven police land divisions carried out raids island-wide.The police said that preliminary investigations found that seven people had allegedly harassed debtors at their homes, while another 32 were believed to be runners who carried out ATM transfers as part of unlicensed moneylending activities.The remaining 41 people allegedly opened bank accounts and provided their ATM cards, personal identification numbers or internet banking tokens to unlicensed moneylenders.Investigations against them are ongoing, said the police.If found guilty, first-time offenders face a jail term of up to four years, fined between $30,000 and $300,000, and up to six strokes of the cane.

Since the start of the year, there have been at least seven reported cases and at least $51,600 lost to job scams involving the performance of online tasks related to digital Pokemon trading cards, said the police. In a statement on Thursday (Feb 5), the police said that victims would receive unsolicited calls from Malaysian phone numbers about a job opportunity involving online tasks.The job would require victims to register for an account and initiate a cryptocurrency deposit on a fraudulent website.Victims would then be able to select digital Pokemon trading cards on the site and «earn» a commission based on the card value, which would be «deposited» into their registered account. Subsequently, they would encounter «exclusive» high-value cards which required them to make larger cryptocurrency deposits to the website before they could «earn» their commission. In some cases, victims would have negative account balances and had to make additional deposits to restore their accounts. 

A woman was left baffled after a pair of kingfishers were seen flying into the windows of her home.In a TikTok video shared on Monday (Feb 2) the Bedok resident said: «We need help. Even bird spikes don't stop them.»The clip shows the kingfishers crashing into the window, but they recover quickly and fly to a nearby tree, before flying into the windows again. 

Singaporean child sex offender Amos Yee, 27, who is facing deportation from the United States, has published a blog post urging the Singapore government not to accept his return, claiming that doing so could create political complications. In the post on Wednesday (Feb 4), Yee said deportation to Singapore would result in a jail term for failing to serve mandatory National Service (NS), which he has allegedly avoided since the age of 17. Yee added that after the possible imprisonment, he would still refuse to enlist for NS. «You think I'm just going to quietly accept my punishment and agree to serve in the military? Hah! I'm going to continue to swerve the military,» he wrote. «There will be numerous court dates, me coming in and out of prison, each time I'll maybe write a blogpost here, make a video there, condemning the military, condemning the government. All the attentions (sic) and negative press you and I will receive, it'll be amazing.» 

A shopper browsing the aisles of a Prime Supermarket outlet in Hougang apparently found meat products two days past their expiry date still on the shelf. Taking to Facebook page Complaint Singapore on Jan 22, the shopper surnamed Ho said the use-by date for a pack of marinated meat had been supposedly obscured by a sticker label. A photo he shared showed the price tag on a pack of meat slightly peeled back to reveal that the expiry date was Jan 19. Ho told local media he took the photo on the evening of Jan 21 at Hougang Street 11. In his Facebook post, he claimed that the expiry date of other products on sale were similarly concealed. «All three 'reduced to clear' packages on the shelf had the same issue, with their expiry dates deliberately covered by stickers which appears to not be accidental,» Ho wrote. He urged shoppers to check the expiry dates of items before purchase. Prime Supermarket told AsiaOne that its priority for markdown items is to «clear all stock prior to expiry and remove items from shelves in accordance with food safety requirements». 

Applications have come in hot from first-timer singles looking for a 2-room HDB unit at the upcoming Tampines Nova Build-To-Order (BTO) project in central Tampines, reaching a rate of 50 applicants for each available unit as at 8am on Thursday (Feb 5) — just a day after the project was launched. Tampines Nova is one of three BTO projects with a shorter wait time in the HDB's first sales exercise of the year, with an estimated completion time of two years and eight months. It will comprise 122 units of 2-room Flexi and 133 units of 4-room flats. Located at the heart of Tampines Regional Centre, and bounded by Tampines Concourse and Tampines Avenues 5 and 8, Tampines Nova lies in close proximity to Tampines MRT station and a range of amenities. The application rates by first-timer singles across the four other BTO projects with 2-room flats, in comparison, did not exceed 2.5 as at 8am. 

A 76-year-old female personal mobility aid (PMA) user was taken to hospital following an accident with a car in Bedok on Wednesday (Feb 4) night.The accident happened at about 10.35pm along Bedok Reservoir Road. A photograph circulated on an online motoring group showed a PMA lying on its side at the pedestrian crossing. Steps away, paramedics were seen attending to the elderly woman.A silver colour Toyota car was also stopped at the scene with its hazard lights switched on.Responding to AsiaOne's queries, the police and Singapore Civil Defence Force said that the 76-year-old woman was conveyed conscious to Changi General Hospital, adding that police investigations are ongoing.

The Traffic Police (TP) will void demerit points and issue refunds for any fines paid for 1,523 speeding tickets that were erroneously issued between Oct 30 and Dec 8 last year.In a statement on Thursday (Feb 5), TP and Land Transport Authority (LTA) said that the speed limit for three speed enforcement cameras along the KPE was incorrectly set at 70kmh, which was 10kmh lower than the actual speed limit of 80kmh.TP discovered the error — made by LTA's contractor during a hardware replacement on Oct 30 last year — during an audit in mid-December. «As a precautionary measure, the Traffic Police have also checked all other speed cameras islandwide.»«TP and LTA sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused. We take a serious view of this matter and are strengthening our checks and controls to prevent similar occurrences,» the statement said,Affected motorists do not have to take any action as TP will be notifying them of the error.Those who have already paid their fines will receive refunds through PayNow or bank transfer.[[nid:726986]]chingshijie@asiaone.com

Public transport operator SMRT has released the operating schedule for Singapore's rarest bus service — 405 — for this year.Bus service 405 is considered 'rare' because it operates only seven times a year during the Qing Ming festival, Good Friday, the start of Ramadan, Hari Raya Puasa, Hari Raya Haji, Deepavali and All Souls' Day.The service underwent a route adjustment in 2025 following the realignment of Lim Chu Kang Road — also popularly referred to as 40 tiang (lamp post in Malay) by the local car community.This year, service 405's first operating date will be on Feb 19 — the first day of Ramadan. Following that, its next operating date will be during Hari Raya Puasa and the Qing Ming period on March 21 and 22.When in operation, service 405 will start at 7am and end at 5pm, running at a frequency of 22 to 30 minutes.

Singapore broadcaster Mediacorp has secured the media rights for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, and football fans here will have more reasons to cheer, with 28 matches set to be aired for free on local television screens.The 2026 FIFA World Cup will feature an expanded tournament with 48 teams, up from 32. This also means that the total number of games to be played will increase from 64 to 104.All 104 matches and official ceremonies of the 2026 edition will be available to subscribers of Mediacorp's video streaming service mewatch and its carriage partner platforms. The broadcaster also announced that it will «substantially expand» free coverage of matches on mewatch and Channel 5, which it said will ensure that more Singaporeans can enjoy the world's biggest football event together.«This expansion will see the number of free-to-air matches increasing from nine in 2022 to 28 this year, comprising the opening match, 23 group stage matches, two semi-finals, the third-place playoff and the final,» it said.Mediacorp will announce details on its carriage partners, subscription plans and pricing at a later date.[[nid:726348]]

Canadian influencer challenges runners in Singapore for $50, draws calls to race Shanti Pereira.During his recent visit to Singapore, Canadian fitness influencer @alotmoremane challenged local runners at Marina Bay and Clarke Quay to race him for $50.Alotmoremane, whose real name is Mane Yousuf, is known for his videos where he races runners in different countries for a cash prize. Though he gives the runners a head start, he usually catches up.In a video posted on Jan 25, Yousuf challenges a female runner to race from The Promontory@Marina Bay to the Red Dot Design Museum.Yousuf gives the woman an 18-second head start before sprinting towards the destination. Both runners end up reaching the museum's entrance at about the same time.Even though it's unclear who the victor was, the influencer praised the woman for her effort and rewarded her with $50.The video has garnered more than five million views and over 195,000 likes.

SINGAPORE — The former chief executive of healthcare start-up Biofourmis Holdings has been charged for multiple offences, including allegedly asking his staff to falsify company invoices claiming they had offered services worth millions to the Ministry of Health (MOH).On Feb 4, Rajput Kuldeep Singh Vithal Singh, who was also the former director of the company, was handed seven charges in a district court.This includes three counts of abetting the falsification of accounts, three charges of fraud by false representation or abetment of the offence, and one count of forgery for the purpose of cheating.Police said between Aug 18, 2021, and Feb 28, 2022, the 34-year-old Indian national had allegedly instigated his staff to falsify company invoices purporting that Biofourmis Singapore had rendered services worth US$16,491,375 (S$20,941,600) to MOH.Charge sheets state that the invoices were for services relating to the Biovitals Sentinel Platform, which remotely monitors patients and provides clinicians with their vital signs, according to past reports.

Singapore's Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX) and British-based aerospace manufacturer Vertical Aerospace will be collaborating to trial the use of air taxis for emergency medical responses.The project will run through April 2026, according to a release by Vertical Aerospace on the second day of the Singapore Airshow 2026 (Feb 4).Vertical Aerospace was awarded $100,000 in funding from Hatch — an innovation centre of HTX for public safety —  after winning a global innovation challenge organised by the centre.The grant will enable Vertical Aerospace to develop, test and validate how Valo, its aircraft platform, and its commercial eVTOL aircraft, can be used for emergency medical services. In particular, the project will focus on how electric and hybrid-electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft can support time-critical medical responses for remote island areas around Singapore.Under the programme, Vertical Aerospace will work with HTX, Hatch and operational stakeholders to develop a detailed concept with regard to emergency medical responses aligned with operational and regulatory requirements.