SINGAPORE — A woman who together with her husband ill-treated her two stepchildren, including starving them, was sentenced to six years and three months' jail on March 13.The children were so undernourished that they were found to be below the third percentile of their age group, which meant that 97 per cent of the other children in their age group were bigger and heavier than them.In sentencing the woman, District Judge Eugene Teo said: «This case involves the ill-treatment of the especially vulnerable, which stretched from hours, to days, to weeks, to months.»It is painfully ironic now to seek mercy when so little was shown to those two children."The woman's husband had earlier received an unprecedented sentence of 34.5 years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane on April 30, 2024, over the death of his daughter, Ayeesha.His sentence was increased to life imprisonment in July 2025, after his appeal for a reduced term failed.Ayeesha was five years old when she died in 2017 of a head injury inflicted by her father. Her brother, who survived the abuse, was about four years old then.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) made adjustments to the deployment of its officers as part of efforts to support the safe return of Singaporeans from the Middle East.In a video posted on social media on Friday (March 13), ICA explained that the adjustments were to ensure efficient immigration clearance for returning Singaporeans. 

A fire broke out at ibis Singapore hotel on Bencoolen Street on Friday (March 13) at about 9.55am.Pictures posted on social media showed at least two Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) ambulances and one fire engine behind the hotel at Bencoolen Link. One SCDF fire engine was at the scene when AsiaOne reached at around 1pm. PHOTO: AsiaOne/Dennis Palit A police cordon was also seen around the two-lane road.Meanwhile, paramedics were seen checking on hotel guests who were evacuated and sitting at an open area in between Sri Krishnan Temple and the Stamford Arts Centre.

A total of 136 men and 85 women are under investigation following a two-week police operation between Feb 26 and March 11, the police said on Thursday (March 12).The operation, involving officers from the police's commercial affairs department and seven police land divisions, resulted in investigations into 221 individuals aged between 17 and 81 for their suspected involvement in scams as scammers or money mules.They are believed to be involved in over 1,080 scam cases comprising mostly e-commerce scams, friend impersonation scams, job scams, government official impersonation scams, investment scams and rental scams.These cases have resulted in losses of over $5.3 million, the police said.The alleged offences of the individuals involved include cheating, money laundering, and providing payment services without a licence.If found guilty of cheating, an individual may face a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine, while those convicted of money laundering may be jailed for up to 10 years and fined up to $500,000.

A woman seen opening and swapping strawberries in packed boxes at a FairPrice outlet has raised concerns over food hygiene.In a video shared on Facebook on Wednesday (March 11), a woman in a white tank top and yellow cap can be seen handling a prepacked box of strawberries.Another woman in a blue shirt stands beside her, assisting the former as she picks and swaps strawberries between boxes using her bare hands. According to the post, the incident occurred at the FairPrice Finest outlet in Bedok Mall on Wednesday at around 5.30 pm.In the comments section, several netizens expressed concern about hygiene, while others criticised the woman's behaviour.«Really terrible manner of buyers. I hate people doing such things. Touching those strawberries with bare hands— they will rot easily,» said one user. Another added, 'This happens often at supermarkets. They should seal the packages to prevent incidents like this."Responding to queries from AsiaOne, a spokesperson for FairPrice Group said the company is aware of the incident and is investigating.

Eighty-one Singaporeans and their dependants, including 42 students studying in Jordan, arrived in Singapore just before 6am on Friday (March 13), on the Republic of Singapore Air Force's (RSAF) A330 multi-role tanker transport (MRTT).This is the second RSAF aircraft deployed to Saudi Arabia to evacuate citizens and their dependants stranded in the Middle East. The first evacuation flight on Tuesday (March 10) brought home 218 people.  

The Law Society of Singapore has initiated disciplinary proceedings against Workers' Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh.Singh, 49, was called to the bar in 2011. According to the hearing list on the Singapore Court's website, a case management conference was scheduled to be heard by Assistant Registrar James Low on Thursday (March 12).The nature of the case was described as «disciplinary proceedings for advocates and solicitors of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Singapore».Based on the listing, the Law Society is represented by a team from Drew & Napier led by Senior Counsel Cavinder Bull, while Singh is self-represented.A case management conference is a court-mandated meeting which takes place in private and is intended to enhance efficiency, such as by narrowing issues.Under the Legal Profession Act 1996, the Law Society of Singapore may apply for a disciplinary tribunal to be convened.It then hears and investigates the matter and decides whether disciplinary action is warranted.

Passengers travelling by ferry between Singapore and Batam in Indonesia will have to pay an additional fuel surcharge from Thursday (March 12) due to higher oil prices. Conflict in the Middle East has led to volatile oil prices, and ferry operators like Horizon Fast Ferry, Batamfast and Majestic Fast Ferry have implemented such fuel surcharges to combat higher operational costs.All passengers on trips from Singapore to Batam will have to fork out a $6 surcharge per ticket, regardless if their tickets were purchased prior to March 12 or from the effective date onward. Meanwhile, trips from Batam to Singapore will be subject to a surcharge of IDR65,000 (S$4.92). Additionally, Batamfast will also be charging passengers travelling to Desaru Coast and Pengelih, locations in Malaysia, $12 and $6 respectively. 

A 34-year-old man was charged in court on Thursday (March 12) for allegedly trafficking etomidate vaporiser pods in Geylang. Ng Ee Keong, Ben, was arrested along Geylang Lorong 35 on Tuesday morning during a Health Sciences Authority (HSA) enforcement operation. A total of six vaporiser pods, four bottles of cough syrup and prescription medicines including more than 900 tablets were seized from Ng's car. Subsequent laboratory testing confirmed that the pods contained etomidate. Charges for the alleged supply of cough syrup and prescription medicines are pending further investigation. Ng will return to court on April 9. Tougher laws on vapes, heavier penalties from May 1Parliament on March 6 passed new anti-vaping laws, which are expected to come into force on May 1. 

A 40-year-old Chinese man is set to be charged in Johor after amended anti-littering laws came into effect on New Year's Day this year. He will be the first of five Singaporeans — nabbed in Johor for littering — to be charged in court there. They were caught between Jan 1 and 12. Earlier in January, AsiaOne reported that the first Singaporean to be booked for littering was caught on Jan 1, while another two male Singaporeans were caught on Jan 3. The fourth and fifth cases involved a 30-year-old male Singaporean and 40-year-old male Singaporean. They were booked on Jan 12 and 14 respectively. 

The police have warned members of the public to be vigilant against a scam variant that targets access to victims' WhatsApp accounts.In an advisory issued on Thursday (March 12), the police said that such cases begin when a scammer attempts to log into the victims' WhatsApp accounts by entering their mobile numbers and requesting for a WhatsApp verification one-time password (OTP).Victims would then receive an SMS containing the OTP, and scammers would also send them WhatsApp messages from known contacts whose WhatsApp accounts have already been compromised.The victims would be asked to provide the OTP under the pretext that the code was actually intended for the known contacts but had been mistakenly sent to them. Scammers would then use the OTP to access the victims' WhatsApp accounts and log the victims out.The same process would be repeated with the victims' contacts, and victims would only realise that their WhatsApp accounts have been compromised when they are logged out or when their contacts inform them of the unusual OTP requests.