Three hours into the night flight, air force transport pilot Gerald Goh saw a single projectile in the distance.«The initial reaction was a sense of shock,» the 31-year-old pilot told AsiaOne in an interview on Friday (March 27). «But we assessed, as a crew, that it was from a distance… and we determined it was safe to continue with the mission.»The mission — on March 10 — was to bring home 218 stranded Singaporeans and their dependents on board the Republic of Singapore Air Force's (RSAF) first military evacuation flight from Saudi Arabia.While the projectile — fired within Middle Eastern airspace during an ongoing war — was assessed not to have targetted his A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT), Captain Goh said the incident underscored the real risks faced by the flight crew.

The Government will act decisively when it comes across instances of foreigners inciting Singaporeans to break the law and use violence, said Coordinating Minister for National Security K Shanmugam on Saturday (March 28).Shanmugam, who is also Minister for Home Affairs, also reiterated that the Government will not tolerate interference by foreigners in Singapore's politics — a position which it has consistently upheld since independence. «It is an absolute no. That position has not changed — and it will be firmly enforced,» he added.He was commenting on his Facebook about the case of Malaysian activist Fadiah Nadwa Fikri, who was banned from Singapore. In his post, Shanmugam pointed out that Fadiah had encouraged local activists in Singapore to adopt her brand of radical advocacy. «When people attempt to interfere in this manner, we will act decisively. »It does not matter whether the instigator is Singaporean, Malaysian, or any other foreign national," the minister wrote.

A prolonged crisis in the Middle East could have a significant impact on supply chains and energy markets, which will in turn have a «huge impact» for the global economy and on Singapore, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.Speaking to the media on Saturday (March 28) as he wrapped up his visit to Hong Kong, PM Wong was asked if the government is planning to roll out measures to cushion the impact of rising prices amidst energy shortages. Acknowledging public concerns, PM Wong assured Singaporeans that the Government is monitoring the situation closely and planning ahead.«A lot of concerns are about the price impact, and I can fully understand the concerns, but we are also concerned about what might happen if the situation in the Middle East continues for a prolonged period of time, or even escalates, and the Strait of Hormuz continues to be blocked for prolonged stretch because then the impact of such a prolonged crisis is not just going to be about higher and elevated prices,» he said.

If you have applied for long-term immigration facilities such as permanent residency and received a letter and tax invoice to pay a fee, do not make any payment. In a news release on Saturday (March 28), the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said it was alerted to a fake letter and tax invoice that were received by an applicant. According to ICA, the “documents” bore its letterhead and a signature of an officer allegedly from the authority. The applicant later received the fake letter and invoice asking for a certain fee to be paid to proceed with the application. Checks by ICA revealed that the applicant had engaged a commercial entity to assist with a Singapore Permanent Resident (PR) application for a total fee of about $5,000. The authority also found that no application had been submitted on behalf of the person. Applicants should apply directly to ICAICA also revealed that they have been alerted to 12 similar cases since January.

When the police told sisters Faith and Sarah Phua in April 2025 that their 75-year-old mother wanted to transfer $67,000 to an unknown account, they were shocked.They confronted their mother, who admitted she wanted to send the money to tech billionaire Elon Musk, whom she believed needed help saving his company from ruin.They were horrified to later learn that since 2022, their mother had been fooled by scammers who used artificial intelligence to impersonate Musk to talk to her.Over three years, the elderly woman transferred $600,000 to the scammers.The sisters spoke to The Straits Times at the Police Cantonment Complex in New Bridge Road on March 24.Sarah Phua, 45, said: “My mum said Elon Musk needed her money to help his business as it was losing money. That was when we knew she had been brainwashed.”

More than 830kg of Asian pangolin scales from an estimated over 2,200 pangolins were seized in a joint operation between the National Parks Board (NParks) and Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) in December last year, said Minister of State for National Development Alvin Tan. Tan, who is also Minister of State for Trade and Industry, disclosed this at the World Wildlife Regional Youth Symposium held at the BCA Academy on Saturday (March 28), when he announced the publication of a new Singapore-focused compendium as part of a multi-pronged strategy to strengthen partnerships and tackle illegal wildlife trade.The compendium is tailored to Singapore's context as a major maritime hub, and underscores the importance of international cooperation and public-private partnerships in the fight against wildlife trafficking along global maritime routes.It equips maritime industry partners, including carriers, shippers and freight forwarders with guidance on at-risk routes and common red flags in wildlife trafficking, such as discrepancies in documentation, cargo value, weight and appearance.

Passengers on board a Garuda Indonesia flight bound for Jakarta, Indonesia, from Changi Airport were evacuated after a safety issue was detected on the aircraft before take-off on March 25.A safety hazard in the aircraft’s tail section that posed a potential risk to flight safety was identified by the crew on Flight GA829 during boarding that day, said the airline in a statement on March 27.Most passengers had already boarded the aircraft, which was scheduled to depart Changi at 12.55pm, it said, adding that “measured and controlled safety measures” were carried out to direct passengers back to the boarding gate.Passengers were evacuated via the aerobridge and escape slides at the rear aircraft doors to hasten the disembarkation process, said the airline.“All passengers were transferred to a replacement aircraft to continue their journey to Jakarta and have also received compensation in accordance with applicable regulations,” it said.Garuda Indonesia did not reveal when the replacement flight departed or details of the safety hazard.

At least 72 cases involving scammers impersonating DBS Bank and POSB have been reported since Jan 15, with total losses amounting to at least $484,000. In a joint statement issued on Friday (March 27), the police and DBS said that in this scam variant, victims would receive emails purportedly from DBS or POSB claiming that their digital tokens have expired and need to be activated or updated. These emails would contain embedded links directing recipients to phishing websites that resemble official DBS or POSB webpages. Victims are then misled into entering their banking credentials, credit or debit card details, and one-time passwords to activate or update their digital tokens. Victims would subsequently discover unauthorised transactions, including those in foreign currencies such as euros and Saudi riyals, made on their bank accounts or cards, said the police. 

To evade Customs duties he expected to incur upon returning to Sri Lanka from his trip in Singapore, a man lied to the police that he was a victim of a snatch theft.The foreign national believed that by fabricating the incident, he would be able to avoid paying the required Customs fees.Despite his wife’s reluctance, he went ahead with his plan.On March 27, Hewa Sahabanduge Waruna Kanishka, 30, was sentenced to five months’ jail after he pleaded guilty to giving false information to a public servant and for obstruction of justice.His wife, Jayasekara Gamlath Ralalage Yehelichathurika, 29, was sentenced to two months’ jail after pleading guilty to obstructing the course of justice.Court documents show that Hewa lodged a police report at Rochor Neighbourhood Police Centre some time around March 4. This was despite his wife dissuading him from doing so and refusing to accompany him to the police station.There, he claimed he was a victim of a snatch theft that had occurred one day before in Bugis Street. He told officers that a robber had stolen his bag which had several pieces of gold jewellery, a smartphone and $400 in cash.