SINGAPORE — A 19-year-old woman was starved and tortured for two months by a man she had met through a club selling Herbalife nutritional products in acts which allegedly also involved her older brother and his married girlfriend, the High Court heard on Feb 9.Huang Baoying died on May 5, 2021, from the final acts of abuse carried out on her in a flat at Block 602 Clementi West Street 1.In her last hours, she was repeatedly beaten with a wooden stick, forced to sit upright with her hands tied and raised above her head, had salt rubbed into an open wound on her leg, and was drenched under a running tap for 15 minutes.The teenager was left on a mattress in the living room, where she died from a combination of severe malnutrition, sepsis and extensive blunt force trauma.She weighed only 27.6 kg at her autopsy, having lost 43 per cent of her body weight over 11 months from June 2020, when her weight was last recorded as 48.8 kg.On Feb 9, Lim Peng Tiong, a member of the multi-level marketing club selling Herbalife products, pleaded guilty to a charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder for causing her death.

A 84-year-old woman died after an accident involving a power-assisted bicycle (PAB) in Bedok on Jan 30. Responding to queries from AsiaOne on Monday (Feb 9), the police said they were alerted to an accident involving a PAB and a pedestrian along Bedok South Avenue 3 towards Tanah Merah Kechil Road at around 3.20pm on Jan 30.  The victim was sent to hospital unconscious, where she later died. A 43-year-old male PAB rider is assisting with police investigations. The victim's daughter, in a Facebook post shared on SGRV Front Man on Sunday, said the victim had been walking towards a bus stop along Bedok South Avenue 3 at the time of the accident.She was found unconscious with a skull fracture and massive bleeding from her head, and died shortly after in hospital, the post stated. «We were told that she was hit by a PMD (personal mobility device),» the daughter added. «We are pleading for witnesses who saw what had happened to contact the Bedok Police (Division Headquarters). Grieving family would like closure.» [[nid:729275]]khooyihang@asiaone.com

A dramatic escape attempt at a Johor Bahru land checkpoint last month saw a Malaysian policeman draw his gun while his colleague picked up a traffic cone and hit a car bonnet in a bid to stop an errant driver. Viral dashcam footage posted by Facebook page SGRV on Saturday (Feb 7) shows a Volkswagen bearing a Singapore licence plate going against the flow of traffic at a car zone at the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex at the Johor Bahru end of the Causeway. The incident purportedly occurred at about 1.30am on Jan 10. When the two Malaysian policemen approach the car, the driver abruptly reverses before jerking forward and lightly bumping into the cam car. One policeman draws his gun as the driver reverses again and attempts to go over the lane divider. Another officer then grabs a nearby traffic cone and strikes the car's bonnet. As the cam car backs away from the scene, the errant driver takes the chance and speeds away through the lane opening. The clip has since attracted nearly 700,000 views and more than 3,000 likes as of Monday afternoon. 

Stay in the know with a recap of our top stories today.1. 18-year-old subdued by 4 police officers after allegedly brandishing knife in Bukit PanjangAn 18-year-old teenager was subdued by four police officers last Saturday (Feb 7) after allegedly brandishing a knife in Bukit Panjang... » READ MORE2. This made my day: Sengkang pedestrians hailed for controlling traffic amid rain and traffic light failure

Complaints against the beauty industry in Singapore spiked by 76.2 per cent in 2025, leading to cumulative losses exceeding $2.1 million.In a media release on Monday (Feb 9), the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) said the beauty industry received the most complaints in 2025, with 2,113 complaints compared to 1,199 complaints the year prior. In particular, the abrupt closure of massage and foot reflexology chain Wan Yang in November last year accounted for approximately $1,250,000 in prepayment losses, representing over half of the losses within the beauty industry, said Case. Of the complaints received against the beauty industry in 2025, approximately two in five involved prepayment losses resulting from sudden business closures, while around one in five involved unfair practices such as pressure sales tactics and misleading claims. Melvin Yong, president of Case, said that the sharp rise in prepayment losses in 2025 highlights the «urgent need for stronger safeguards».

SINGAPORE — Singapore's telecommunications infrastructure has come under attack from cyberespionage group UNC3886.All four of the country's major telcos — Singtel, StarHub, M1 and Simba Telecom — were targeted, Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo revealed on Feb 9.UNC3886 is a state-linked advanced persistent threat (APT) actor and poses a menace to national security in many countries, including Singapore.Even though no sensitive data was seen or exfiltrated, Teo said the attacks cannot be taken lightly.«They could deploy more tools to disrupt telecoms and internet services. Everything that requires a phone or internet connection would then be affected,» said Teo, who is also Minister-in-charge of Cybersecurity and Smart Nation in Singapore.«The knock-on effects of their campaign could also have included other essential services like banking and finance, transport, and medical services,» she added. «Successful cyberattacks can also affect trust and confidence in Singapore as a whole, and our economic security.»

Even as Singapore remained one of the safest countries in the world in 2025, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has flagged the increased number of young drug abusers below the age of 30, speeding violations and scams as some of the trends it is concerned with.These trends were presented by MHA in its annual overview of safety and security situation on Monday (Feb 9), ahead of its departments - referred to as the Home Team - releasing their annual statistics this month.The Home Team comprises the Central Narcotics Bureau, Gambling Regulatory Authority, Home Team Academy, Home Team Science and Technology Agency, Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA), Internal Security Department, Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), Singapore Police Force, Singapore Prison Service (SPS), and Yellow Ribbon Singapore.

A 22-year-old full-time national serviceman (NSF) has been arrested in relation to the false bomb threat at Paya Lebar Air Base (PLAB) on Jan 23, according to a press release by the Ministry of Defence on Monday (Feb 9).The NSF, who was working in the air base, is suspected to be the perpetrator of the threat and was placed under close arrest in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) detention barracks on Jan 28.He had created an online post claiming that improvised explosive devices (IED) were installed across 12 locations in the air base and in Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) senior officers' vehicles.«The threat was confirmed to be a hoax after bomb sweeps and other precautionary measures were taken,» Mindef said. «Current evidence suggests that the NSF was a lone perpetrator.»The NSF may be charged for communicating false information of harmful thing and tried via general court martial depending on how the investigation proceeds, the ministry stated.If found guilty, he may face up to seven years' jail and a $50,000 fine.

Singapore's four major telecom operators — Singtel, StarHub, M1, and Simba — are under threat from cyber espionage group UNC3886.The foreign actor targeted the telecommunications sector in 2025 but did not succeed in stealing any personal or sensitive customer data, said the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) in a statement on Monday (Feb 9).«At stake was not just sensitive data,» said Josephine Teo, Minister for Digital Development and Information and Minister-in-charge of Cybersecurity and Smart Nation Group, at an engagement event to recognise cyber defenders on Monday.«The consequences could have been more severe. If the attack went far enough, it could have allowed the attacker to one day cut off telecoms or internet services.»UNC3886 was publicly identified as the advanced persistent threat (APT) group conducting a «serious» and ongoing attack on Singapore's critical infrastructures by Coordinating Minister for National Security K Shanmugam in July 2025.

SINGAPORE - Singapore drew more investment in 2025 despite geopolitical and economic uncertainties, with China forming a larger share of total commitments and business expenditures, according to data released on Monday (Feb 9) by the city-state's Economic Development Board.Fixed asset investment commitments in Singapore rose 5.2 per cent to $14.2 billion, from $13.5 billion a year earlier, while total business expenditure rose 6 per cent to $8.9 billion, the agency said in a statement.Singapore has seen an influx of Chinese companies looking to domicile in Singapore to reduce the risks to their business arising from the growing geopolitical tensions between China and the United States.China's share of fixed asset commitments accounted for 20.6 per cent of the total last year, exceeding the United States for the first time, with the US share falling to 17.3 per cent. In 2024, China accounted for only 2.5 per cent of the commitments, with the United States at 55.5 per cent.EDB chairman Png Cheong Boon said that many Chinese companies are seeking to expand internationally in response to slower domestic growth.

Three men were praised for stepping in to direct traffic in Sengkang after a traffic light malfunction during a rainy day.A video of the incident was uploaded to TikTok on Saturday (Feb 7) by Tanisha Singh, the wife of one of the three pedestrians who helped direct traffic.The incident occurred on Friday night at a traffic junction outside Rivervale Mall, which is located between Rivervale Crescent and Rivervale Drive.The traffic lights at the junction were not working, according to Singh's caption, and the ground appeared slick from rain.The 23-second video captured Singh's husband and two other men using the flashlights on their mobile phones to direct traffic at the intersection.Singh's video has since garnered over 67,000 views, with many netizens leaving comments lauding the actions of the three men.«A salute to these men,» said TikTok user Leo Heng, while another another praised them for using their phone lights to alert approaching vehicles.Some netizens shared about witnessing the scene on Friday night, and thanked the men for taking the initiative to help out.

A woman who was behind the wheel in the Chinatown accident which claimed the life of a six-year-old girl is remorseful over the accident, said her husband.The tragic accident occurred on Friday (Feb 6) at around 11.50am along South Bridge Road, at a carpark near the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple.Heartbreaking footage circulating online of the aftermath showed a man holding the bleeding girl in his arms, with a woman lying on the ground next to them.According to the police, two female pedestrians, aged six and 31, were conscious when they were taken to hospital, where the girl later died.In an updated statement on Sunday, the police said they have arrested a 38-year-old female car driver for driving without reasonable consideration causing death.

A group of teenagers have come under fire after they were filmed riding Personal Mobility Devices (PMDs) on the road.An Instagram video posted by Sgfollowsall on Friday (Feb 6) shows the youths riding PMDs along a three-lane road, overtaking vehicles and switching lanes.Two of them were seen standing on electric scooters, while the remaining five travelled on three electric bicycles.

An outing to McDonald's ended up in a trip to the hospital for one family, after the couple's three-year-old daughter scalded her tongue on hot water.In a Facebook post on Wednesday (Feb 4), former national footballer Ridhuan Muhamad, 41, shared that they had gone to the fast food chain at Ridout Tea Garden in Queensway on Feb 1.«What was meant to be a normal outing turned into a hospital trip after my daughter was accidentally given boiling hot water instead of cold water like we asked for,» he wrote.He added that upon drinking from the insulated water bottle, his daughter cried in pain, frightened. She also «couldn't eat or drink properly» and is now «traumatised at the sight of her water bottle».Videos uploaded in the post showed the girl crying, as well as paramedics attending to the child. A woman speaking in the video could be heard telling them that the girl «was just shaking in pain» after drinking from the bottle.Speaking to AsiaOne, Ridhuan said he had approached the food collection counter and asked a staff member to help fill the bottle with cold water.