A suspicious person was sighted in the vicinity of Soo Chow View in Upper Thomson on Tuesday (Feb 24) afternoon. Responding to AsiaOne's queries, the police said it received a call for assistance at about 2pm. The person had left the area before officers arrived. Soo Chow View is adjacent to Marigold Drive, where an intruder trespassed into a landed home on the night of Feb 21. A similar case of trespass had occurred on the night of Feb 17 at a private residential property along Taman Permata, some 500m away from Marigold Drive. When AsiaOne arrived at the scene just before 6pm, two Special Operations Command vehicles were seen along Upper Thomson Road. 

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has no plans to stop the issuance of five-cent coins as there continues to be public demand for these coins, said Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong.DPM Gan, who is also the Chairman of MAS, was responding to a parliamentary question on Monday (Feb 24) by Member of Parliament Fadli Fawzi. Fadli, who represents Aljunied GRC, had asked about the cost of minting each five-cent coin, and whether the Government has any plans to withdraw five-cent coins from circulation if the difference between the face value of the coin and its product cost is negative. In his written reply, DPM Wong said that MAS has not minted any new five-cent coins in the last five years, adding that the authority also has no plans to mint new five-cent coins.He also updated that the estimated cost of producing a five-cent coin remains below its face value. Turning to the question on circulation, DPM explained that there is still public demand for five-cent coins.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Tuesday (Feb 24) evening urged Singaporeans to remain united amid a world which is becoming more contested, fragmented and fractured.PM Wong was speaking at An-Nahdhah mosque in Bishan, where he joined some 300 Muslim congregants for a breaking of fast event. Referring to the different festivals, traditions and religious occasions taking place together, PM Wong said that it is «something quite special» that Singaporeans can mark these events together.«That's truly special in Singapore.»You don't see this always in other countries. But here in Singapore, we are able to do so, and it is this harmony which we must treasure, cherish, nurture and continue to strengthen," the prime minister explained.

In the first case involving a child attending preschool, a 11-month-old female infant has contracted measles.This comes after the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) stepped up measures to contain the infection, according to a press release on Tuesday (Feb 24).The agency was notified of the case on Feb 17, which is also the fifth measles case involving an infant below 12 months of age this year.The 11-month-old attended a preschool in Singapore and was not yet due for her vaccination for measles, mumps and rubella.During the infectious period of the measles she contracted, she had attended school.Parents and children in close contact with the case have been notified by the preschool, and epidemiological investigations are ongoing.Among the close contacts with the child, all except four were up to date with their measles vaccination or were in progress of getting vaccinated against measles, CDA said.The four were subsequently issued quarantine orders, but these orders were rescinded following their receipt of vaccination or post-exposure treatment.

Workers' Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh has called on the Government to provide a comprehensive «record card» of its spending after «one of the largest fiscal surpluses in decades».Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday (Feb 24), Singh said the political timing of the General Elections last May was «calculated» so that the ruling People's Action Party could use the US President Donald Trump's tariffs as a «rallying call» for voters to back the tried and tested. He said that since then, there has been little information of the tariffs and their actual impact on Singapore.«Despite the doom and gloom surrounding the Liberation Day tariffs, this PAP Government begins its new term with what may be the greatest fiscal surplus any PAP government has seen in decades.»In his Budget speech, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said that Singapore's budget surplus for the 2025 financial year has been revised to $15.1 billion, more than double the earlier estimate of $6.8 billion.He cited several reasons for this, including a better-than-expected economic performance, as well as the increase in corporate income tax collections.

A man has accused a hair salon in Clementi of hard selling a prepaid treatment package to his 71-year-old mother, who he said is «usually very frugal».The complainant named Leon told Stomp that his mother had visited Salon One at Block 449 Clementi Avenue 3 for a haircut on Jan 3 and ended up paying for a 12-session scalp-treatment package.He alleged that a hairstylist conducted a scalp analysis after finishing her haircut and repeatedly persuaded her to have a scalp treatment for $99.Leon alleged that his mother subsequently bought the package because of hard selling.In a negative review left on the salon's Google page, he said his mother, who works as a cleaner, was «pressured» into the sale and did not tell her family of the incident until they checked her bank account statement.He uploaded pictures showing the $1,294.92 Nets transaction and a magnified image of her scalp presumably taken during the analysis process after the haircut.