Even though the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in litigation is at an early stage, its pace of evolution, client expectations and global competition are coalescing to bring the legal industry to an inflexion point, said Minister for Law Edwin Tong on Tuesday (April 21). He was speaking at the 2026 Litigation Conference organised by the Law Society, themed «The human essence of advocacy in an AI-enhanced world».Tong, who is also Second Minister for Home Affairs, was formerly co-head of Allen and Gledhill's litigation and dispute resolution department, and concurrently head of its restructuring and insolvency practice. He was appointed a senior counsel in 2015. 

Good policies do not emerge on their own and require a strong public service working closely with political leaders, said Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong.Speaking at the Administrative Service Dinner 2026 on Tuesday (April 21) at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre, SM Lee said a high-quality public service is needed to develop and implement policies effectively, alongside ministers who are familiar with policy issues to provide both political input and guidance.He stressed that while civil servants must remain apolitical, this does not mean being neutral about policy direction. «You cannot be indifferent as to whether ultimately a policy is decided upon or its opposite,» he said, adding that civil servants must have conviction in the policies they help develop and implement. SM Lee noted that Singapore's system also depends on the stability and consistency in policy direction, which has allowed the civil service and political leadership to develop a close yet proper working relationship over time.

A 47-year-old man will be charged in court on Wednesday (April 22) for allegedly assaulting a woman in Lucky Plaza in February.In a press release on Tuesday, the police said that they received a report regarding the alleged assault on a 33-year-old woman on Feb 8 from 304 Orchard Road, where Lucky Plaza is located.She suffered injuries and experienced body pain after allegedly being hit and kicked by the man. He also allegedly damaged her personal property during the altercation, said the police.Videos of the incident had gone viral at the time, showing the man chasing after a woman on the sixth floor of Lucky Plaza. 

The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and South Korea's television and radio network Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to jointly develop media content for global audiences and strengthen capabilities across both countries' media industries.In a joint statement released on Tuesday (April 21), IMDA said the partnership aligns SBS' ambition to produce globally appealing content with Singapore's push to create high-quality productions for international audiences.Projects may include long-form dramas, variety shows, micro-dramas, non-fiction content and other entertainment formats, the statement said. The agreement was witnessed by Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Tan Kiat How during an industry learning trip to Seoul.Under the MOU, media companies and professionals from both countries will collaborate across the entire media value chain — from development and production to post-production and cross-border distribution. 

The police are putting an end to licensing exemptions for massage establishments as new set of regulations come into effect from the second half of this year.This means that open-concept massage establishments — presently exempted from licensing — will soon need to comply with «fit and proper» requirements under a new «Category 3» licensing regime.Category 1 licences are granted to those which operate in HDB shop houses, shopping centres and hotels, while Category 2 licences are given to those operating away from residential areas, schools and places of worship.Among the requirements: ensuring that rooms, partitions or cubicles are not set up within the establishment, and obtaining land use approval from HDB and Urban Redevelopment Authority before the premises can be used as an open-concept massage establishment.Police said in a news release on Tuesday (April 21) that they have observed a steady rise in public unhappiness over the system, which they said came from the increase in number of open-concept massage establishments and the social disamenities they create. 

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.