SINGAPORE – For no apparent reason, an early intervention teacher at a childcare centre used a pen to repeatedly stab the head of a six-year-old special needs boy, causing him to sustain several wounds.The woman later lied to the victim’s parents and the centre’s principal that the boy was injured after using toys to hit himself.Upon the mother’s insistence, the principal reviewed CCTV footage, which revealed the offence.The 45-year-old offender, who had earlier pleaded guilty to ill-treating the child, was initially expected to be sentenced on Tuesday (April 28). She will now be sentenced on June 22.She cannot be named owing to a gag order to protect the victim’s identity, and is no longer working at the centre, which also cannot be identified.The child has autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and could speak only one word at a time when the incident occurred in 2022.Deputy Public Prosecutor Emily Koh said the woman had been an early childhood educator for about 10 years.She was the victim’s form teacher and was the only adult in the classroom at around 3pm on Nov 16, 2022.

SINGAPORE – Shoppers in Singapore may be paying the same - or more - for less when it comes to items such as instant coffee or tea, as well as cereal and juices, according to the Department of Statistics (Singstat).This is known as ‘shrinkflation’, or hidden price changes, which is a form of inflation that some economists call “stealth inflation”. It occurs when a product’s size or quantity is reduced but the price stays the same or increases, so consumers effectively pay more per unit.An analysis by Singstat on barcode data from major supermarkets found that overall, less than 5 per cent of items commonly purchased by resident households here experienced shrinkflation in January to December 2025.Among these, eight fast-moving consumer goods were most affected by shrinkflation, based on how often size reductions were observed across the supermarkets.The products are cereals, instant coffee or tea, shampoo, laundry detergent, fruit and vegetable juices, ice cream, milk powder and diapers, said Singstat, which released the findings in a newsletter on April 29.

There is «no basis» for criminal charges to be filed against SPH Media for the alleged overstating of circulation data, the police said on Wednesday (April 29) as it concluded investigations into the matter.In a statement, the police said SPH Media had lodged a report on the inconsistencies in circulation data reporting on June 21, 2023.Former and current employees and directors of the media company were probed for offences including, but not limited to, falsification of accounts and cheating.«The investigations showed that there was no basis for bringing any criminal charges,» the police said.«The police, in consultation with the Attorney-General's Chambers, will be taking no further action.»In 2023, it was reported that the circulation figures for some SPH Media publications had been overstated by about 85,000 to 95,000 daily average copies.

PayNow users will no longer be able to use nicknames in lieu of their actual names from June 6, as part of efforts to strengthen protection against impersonation scams, the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) announced on Wednesday (April 29).Following the change on June 6, the name of the retail payee displayed before a payment is made will no longer be a nickname chosen by the payee. Instead, only the name of the payee linked to the registered account will be displayed to the payer, but with selected letters shown to safeguard customer privacy. The association said in a media release that this approach balances between the use of real names as a safeguard against account impersonation, while being mindful of privacy considerations.«Previously, scammers could exploit the PayNow nickname feature by using the names of established entities or trusted individuals as their PayNow nicknames, enabling them to deceive victims into transferring money to fraudulent accounts,» ABS said.

Singapore's public transport network has been in the spotlight recently with politicians — both past and present — spotted on buses and trains.The latest to join this trend is former defence minister Ng Eng Hen, who uploaded photos of himself on Facebook on Tuesday (April 28), eating laksa after commuting via MRT to Maxwell Food Centre.Ng, who retired from politics in 2025, praised the MRT's «new long-range capability» that made it possible for him to reach and «can now target hawker food faraway».The 67-year-old was also photographed smiling proudly while flashing his PAssion Silver concession card at the camera.The card was launched in 2016 for seniors to enjoy concessionary fares on public transport, in addition to a suite of merchant benefits and privileges.

While they may consist of just two colours - black and white - these animals have been key in bringing vibrancy into the lives of residents in one HDB estate.Residents and netizens alike are gushing over the cute panda murals on the facades of some HDB blocks in Teck Whye, as seen in a post on Reddit by user Spoonfulofsoul last Saturday (April 25).The post, which has since garnered over 1,700 likes as of Wednesday (April 29) morning, introduced netizens to the HDB block design at Block 7 Teck Whye Lane.A photograph of the block in the post shows multiple depictions of the furry bear species along the block's facade, together with paw prints, clouds and star shapes.The cutesy design of the block drew much endearment from netizens, with many comparing this Teck Whye block to others in Singapore.Said one: «So jealous of people living in cute kawaii (cute in Japanese) HDB blocks, mine is an eyesore. Can't wait for the next repaint!»«Love the non-standard paintings on the older HDBs, compared to the uniform paint schemes on the newer estates nowadays,» another opined.

Ground-handling company Sats has apologised after one of its employees was seen throwing luggage onto a baggage belt at Changi Airport.«The behaviour seen in the video does not reflect our service standards or the care with which we expect baggage to be handled,» said Sats in a statement on Tuesday (Apr 28).«We are sorry that this occurred.»An Instagram video shared by user Eric Yoong showed a Sats service crew member tossing baggage onto a conveyor belt at Changi Airport Terminal 2 on April 23 at around 5.15pm.  «I don’t think that’s the correct way for a baggage officer to handle those unclaimed luggage by throwing it back to the luggage belt instead of placing it back nicely or leave it at a side,» he wrote in the captions.

Some hawkers have begun raising prices due to rising operating costs, including increases in plastic, fuel and supplier expenses, while others remain cautious amid concerns over customer demand.Speaking to AsiaOne, Ashton Ng, 36, said his third-generation family-run hawker business has had to make price adjustments across parts of its menu due to rising costs amid the Middle East conflict.«The ongoing crisis has definitely indirectly affected us. Most of my a la carte items have increased by 10 cents, while set meals have increased by 20 cents,» said Ng, who runs Sin Hoe Huat Cafe.«This applies to both dine-in and takeaway orders, as the increase in supplier costs affects our overall business costs,» he added.Ng shared that rising plastic costs have had a wider impact than many might expect and adjustments are often unavoidable.«It does not affect just one area. It affects many things we use every day, such as cups, bowls, plates, lids and other packaging items,» he explained. 

Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers have foiled yet another attempt to smuggle vapes and related components into Singapore.In a social media post on Tuesday (April 28), ICA said a 44-year-old Singaporean man was arrested on April 19 at Tuas Checkpoint after officers found more than 20 vapes and related components.The contraband was hidden among his personal belongings and the car's spare tyre compartment. ICA search and examination officers had directed the vehicle for further checks based on information received from ICA's Integrated Targeting Centre.The case has been referred to the Health Sciences Authority for further investigation. Parliament on March 6 passed new anti-vaping laws, which will come into force on Friday (May 1).Vape users will be liable to a fine of up to $10,000, or five times the current maximum penalty, while sellers will face fines of up to $200,000. Smugglers will fines of up to $300,000 — 30 times the current maximum penalty.

A 51-year-old man riding a Power-Assisted Bicycle (PAB) was injured after getting into an accident with a car at a traffic junction near Clementi MRT on Tuesday (April 28). The police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they were alerted to the accident at the junction of Commonwealth Avenue West and Clementi Avenue 6 at about 3.40pm.The 51-year-old male PAB rider was taken by SCDF to National University Hospital.The 62-year-old male car driver is assisting with police investigations.[[nid:734591]]esther.lam@asiaone.com 

A 27-year-old Malaysian man and a 34-year-old Malaysian woman will be charged in court on Wednesday (April 29) over their suspected roles in a scam involving the impersonation of government officials.Following their arrests on Monday, the number of Malaysians nabbed in Singapore for allegedly helping scam syndicates to collect cash and valuables since March this year now stands at 19.In a news release on Tuesday, the police said they received information the 27-year-old man had entered Singapore on an assignment arranged by scam syndicates — to collect around $100,000 worth of gold bars from an elderly male victim.Acting on fresh leads arising from the arrest, investigators then identified the 34-year-old woman, who is believed to be linked to the same syndicate. The woman was arrested on the same day, and investigators found $24,000 worth of cash and valuables handed over by another victim — a 54-year-old woman. 

A 51-year-old man riding a Power-Assisted Bicycle (PAB) was injured after getting into an accident with a car at a traffic junction near Clementi MRT on Tuesday (April 28). The police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they were alerted to the accident at the junction of Commonwealth Avenue West and Clementi Avenue 6 at about 3.40pm.The 51-year-old male PAB rider was taken by SCDF to National University Hospital.The 62-year-old male car driver is assisting with police investigations.[[nid:734591]]esther.lam@asiaone.com