A 46-year-old male driver has been arrested after he was caught on dashcam footage driving against the flow of traffic in Bukit Batok.The incident happened at about 4.20pm on April 17, along Bukit Batok Road towards Jurong Town Hall Road. Map showing where the BMW 5 series saloon car was seen driving against the flow of traffic on April 17. INFOGRAPHIC: AsiaOne Dashcam footage of the incident shared on Facebook page SG Road Vigilante shows a black BMW 5 series driving against the flow of traffic on the second rightmost lane.A row of vehicles were seen forming up on the rightmost lane, which is a right-turn lane towards the Pan Island Expressway. Several vehicles were also seen stopping briefly as the BMW car passed them.

37-year-old Singaporean activist Kokila Annamalai will be charged on April 23 (Thursday) for failing to comply with a correction direction issued under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma) in 2024.In her posts, Annamalai alleged that the Government schedules and stays executions arbitrarily without regard for due legal process.She also claimed that the State does not bear the legal burden of proving a drug trafficking charge against an accused person.The posts were published on October 2 and October 3, 2024, on Annamalai's Facebook and X accounts. Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam had earlier instructed the POFMA office to issue a correction direction to the 37-year-old on October 5, 2024. It is alleged that she did not comply with the correction.This does not require Annamalai to remove or make edits to her original posts, though she is required to publish a correction notice, providing access to the correct facts on the Government's Factually website. Annamalai will be charged with one count of failing to comply with the correction direction, without reasonable excuse.

A man who was caught on CCTV defecating at the stairwell of an HDB block in Punggol has been fined $800.In a statement to AsiaOne, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said it has completed its investigations into the incident which happened at the staircase landing at Block 138 Edgedale Plains. The agency added that the offender was identified and issued with three summonses on March 27 for two counts of urinating and defecating in a public place, and one count of smoking in a prohibited place.He has since paid the fine for all three offences. The incident came to light after a 36-year-old resident spotted a man defecating at a public stairwell on Feb 23.CCTV footage of the incident was subsequently posted on social media in an appeal to identify the culprit.NEA reminded members of the public that it will take enforcement action against any person found committing such unhygienic and socially irresponsible acts.

As modern societies become more complex, effective social governance will require an effective combination of governance through the rule of law, and soft influence such as virtue and propriety, said Coordinating Minister for Social Policies Ong Ye Kung. Ong, who is also Minister for Health, was speaking at the 5th China-Singapore Social Governance Forum, themed «Building cohesive and stable communities through dispute resolution», in Hangzhou, China, on Monday (April 20).He co-chaired the forum — one of the key bilateral cooperation platforms between Singapore and China — with China's Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission Chen Wenqing.Pointing to shrinking family sizes alongside an increase in the number of households, Ong said there are challenges in fostering a strong community spirit with people staying in their respective spaces. 

A 21-year-old man was charged in court on Monday (April 20) for allegedly trafficking etomidate vaporiser pods, said the Health Sciences Authority (HSA). In a press release on Monday, HSA said officers conducted an enforcement operation at the residence of Brandon Loke Jo Kit on April 19 following reports of alleged sales of etomidate vaporisers in the vicinity of the Kovan area.During a search of the unit, officers seized 21 vaporisers, 116 pods, and cash allegedly obtained by Loke from the sale of these illegal products.HSA added that laboratory testing confirmed that the seized pods contained etomidate, and investigations are ongoing. Loke's case has been adjourned to May 18. Under the enhanced penalties framework that took effect on Sept 1, 2025, importers face between three and 20 years' imprisonment and five to 15 strokes of the cane. Sellers and distributors face between two and 10 years' imprisonment and two to five strokes of the cane.

A white BMW smashed into the front wall of Choa Chu Kang polyclinic on Monday (April 20) morning, according to a video posted on Instagram by user Charlie Lim.In the post, Lim drives past Choa Chu Kang polyclinic and spots a white BMW X2 premium compact sports utility vehicle (SUV) mounting the roadside pavement outside the clinic.A man on his phone walks past, staring at the vehicle, while a traffic police motorcycle can be seen parked behind the crashed car.A woman holding a yellow bag is also seen as she stands beside the open passenger-side door of the BMW with a traffic police officer standing behind her.No one was injured in the incident, Lim claimed in his Instagram post.AsiaOne has contacted National University Polyclinics and the police for more information.Responding to queries from AsiaOne, the police said that they were alerted to an accident involving a car which was believed to have self-skidded along Teck Whye Crescent towards Teck Whye Avenue at around 7.15am on Monday.No injuries were reported and a 72-year-old female car driver is assisting with ongoing police investigations.

Businesses in Singapore are facing higher operating costs amid higher energy prices, but most have held off on workforce changes for now, according to a recent poll by the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF).The poll was conducted from April 10 to 16, and involved 153 small and medium-sized enterprises and 57 large enterprises across the manufacturing, services and construction sector.In the findings published on Monday (April 20), 96 per cent of the businesses reported facing increased operating costs due to higher energy prices.Of these, 60 per cent say they face cost increases of more than 10 per cent — with utilities, fuel, materials and supplies, and air and sea freight the often cited cost components.In their responses, businesses also highlighted that higher energy prices have a knock-on effect on their operations, such as higher costs for raw materials, supplies and logistics.Meanwhile, respondents in the hospitality, food and beverage, and retail sectors, also reported facing upward pressure on temporary labour costs as the market adjusts to the higher-cost environment.

A multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) collided with a van, resulting in the van crashing through a road divider at Woodlands.Footage of the incident shared one SG Road Vigilante Facebook page shows a white MPV with a Malaysian-registered car plate failing to give way to a white van.The impact of the collision pushes the white van across two lanes, then through the road divider, before crashing into another MPV on the opposite side of the road.The Malaysian MPV is also seen going a short distance before coming to a stop at the kerb.In response to AsiaOne's queries, the police said that the incident occurred on Saturday (April 18) at around 6.40pm along Woodlands Road before the Kranji Expressway. No injuries were reported and a 59-year-old male car driver is assisting with investigations, the police added. Police investigations are ongoing.

A Singaporean singer based in Taiwan was at a temple event when he noticed a man wearing a smiling theatrical mask behaving suspiciously and holding «something shiny» in his hand.Fearful that the man might harm others, Willis Loye said he and his friends gave chase and helped subdue the suspect, who was later discovered to be carrying two knives.The 43-year-old told AsiaOne that the incident occurred in the city of Taichung last Saturday (April 18) night.According to him, the masked man was standing at the side of the performance stage and had waved to the 100-strong crowd, where several children were present.The Singaporean had just finished his performance and was watching with the crowd when he saw an unusual glint of light and suspected the man might be armed.When asked about his identity, he did not answer and immediately turned tail, prompting Loye and his friends to give chase.

Two Singaporean men, aged 45 and 51, were fined more than $2.6 million for under-declaring the values of vehicles. In a joint media release on Monday (April 20), the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Singapore Customs said the duo's actions resulted in the fraudulent evasion of excise duties, goods and services tax (GST) and the underpayment of the additional registration fee (ARF) during vehicle registration.Loke Chern Meng, 45, and Desmond Phang Boon Wee, 51, were sentenced on March 6, 2023 and April 20 this year respectively. Loke was fined more than $1.2 million in March for abetting the fraudulent evasion of duty and GST by allowing Phang to manage the company. Loke did not pay the fine and will serve 26 months' imprisonment in default.On April 20, Phang pleaded guilty to two amalgamated charges of fraudulent evasion of duty under the Customs Act and was fined more than $1.3 million.According to charge sheets, Phang suppressed the declared values of 142 vehicles imported by Metalox Autos Pte Ltd between January 2021 and January 2022, resulting in duty evasion amounting to $185,477.

SINGAPORE  — Despite being blocked in Singapore since late 2024, a gambling platform that allows users to place bets on future events remains accessible here through alternative means.Checks by The Straits Times show that Polymarket has seen a surge in bets related to the Republic in recent weeks, with punters staking their money on, for instance, Singapore’s daily temperature since March 13.In April, an average of more than US100,000 (S$127,000) was wagered each day, as users bought “yes” or “no” shares tied to a specific temperature.On April 17, nearly US$125,000 had been wagered by the 8pm deadline. Most people had bet that the daily mercury would read 33 deg C at its hottest.Those who bet correctly receive payouts in cryptocurrency. In this case, the payouts are credited daily.According to information on its website, the subjects of the bets are selected by the platform’s markets team, after taking into account input from users.Polymarket’s website says users in Singapore are not allowed to place bets because of geographical restrictions and regulations. 

About 80 residents were evacuated from a condominium in Choa Chu Kang after a fire broke out on Sunday (April 19) morning.In a video shared on Xiaohongshu on the same day, residents are seen gathered on the ground floor as thick smoke billows from the building.In the caption, the user noted that the elevators were out of service, requiring residents to use the stairs to evacuate. The user also reminded residents to be cautious when charging devices overnight.Speaking to 8world, a resident at the condominium said she heard sirens at around 8.15am, with fire engines and ambulances arriving shortly after.«When we came downstairs, we saw very thick black smoke coming out of the windows. At around 8.30am, firefighters came down to check if anyone was injured,» she said.«By then, the smoke had subsided and residents from the other blocks were allowed to return.»Responding to queries from AsiaOne, the Singapore Civil Defence Force said it was alerted to a fire at 60 Choa Chu Kang Avenue 5 at about 8.05am. 

A passenger finally recovered her missing earring after two weeks thanks to the unwavering persistence of the Kovan MRT station staff.In a Facebook post on Sunday (April 19), SBS Transit shared details of the incident which occurred earlier in March when a passenger dropped her earring while on the escalator at Kovan MRT station.The passenger reported the missing earring to the assistant station manager, De Torres Jose Ma Paz, who immediately stopped the escalator and carried out a thorough check to help find it.De Torres was unable to find the earring and told the passenger that it likely fell into an area under the escalator that could only be accessed during maintenance works.He assured her that he would personally follow up with the maintenance team and keep her updated.It was only two weeks later that a contractor spotted the earring during a maintenance check, which prompted De Torres to contact the passenger with the good news.«I always aim to serve every commuter to the best of my ability and be helpful to everyone,» he said. 

Singapore's National Environment Agency (NEA) on Friday (April 17) inked a memorandum of cooperation (MOC) with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (US NRC) to enhance nuclear safety capabilities.In a media release on Monday, NEA said a new training programme will be designed under the MOC to develop nuclear safety capabilities and regulatory understanding for NEA and its newly formed nuclear safety division.Responding to parliamentary questions on deployment timeframe, potential sites and nuclear safety-related concerns from Members of Parliament on November 6, 2025, Minister-in-charge of Energy and Science and Technology Dr Tan See Leng said dedicated nuclear energy teams have been established at both the Energy Market Authority and NEA. The Singapore government, he added then, has not made a decision on deploying nuclear energy, and is instead focusing on safety and viability considerations.