Crows were in the news recently when they attacked elderly men in Chinatown who were apparently balding or bald.AsiaOne was at the scene on Friday (April 24) and talked to some of them who were attacked.Chang Yeng Yew, 67, is one of them.He told AsiaOne that he was pecked at least thrice as he was walking in the area.«It flew over and I was shocked because I didn't know what it was,» he said. «It pecked my head two to three times, there was nothing I could do about it.»Chang, who runs a fried bee hoon stall at Block 335 in Chinatown, said that he wasn't afraid of the birds — but rather angry.When asked if he might have prepared something to protect himself from future attacks, Chang said that he did not.«I'll just let it happen,» he dismissed with a laugh.Thin-haired targetsTang May Yuet, 62, witnessed how Chang was attacked and pointed out how he has got more wary of the birds since.She said she started noticing such attacks from April 19.«I'd see crows flying all over the area — those with especially thin hair seemed to be the target,» Tang said in Mandarin.

A 26-year-old man has been arrested for unauthorised access to a media-content server, the police said on Friday (April 24).He had allegedly gained unauthorised remote access to a media server and downloaded a film — reportedly The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender — and leaked snippets of the film online.The police received a report on April 16 that extracts of the animated film, which had yet to be released, were circulating on social media platforms.«Through follow-up investigations, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department swiftly established the identity of the man and arrested him within a day of the report,» the police stated.Electronic devices belonging to him were seized and a copy of the film was recovered from his devices.He is being investigated for unauthorised access to computer material under the Computer Misuse Act 1993.If found guilty, he faces up to seven years' jail and a fine of up to $50,000.This arrest comes amid worldwide furore following the alleged leak of the film's clips on X, formerly known as Twitter, by user ImStillDissin.

The supply of Certificates of Entitlement (COE) for the May to July period will increase by 1 per cent compared to the previous quarter, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Friday (April 24).As compared to the 18,824 issued in the February to April period — which fell by about 1 per cent — the number of COEs will rise by 228, or 1 per cent.Across the vehicle categories, Categories B and E will increase by around 7 per cent and 6.3 per cent respectively, while the quota for Categories A and D will fall by about 2 per cent and 1.7 per cent respectively.The quota for Category C remains unchanged. LTA added that bidding under the new quota will begin on May 4. It consists of the following components:

A love scam syndicate operating from Kelantan, Malaysia, which was recently taken down by local authorities, primarily targeted Singaporean men.As no victims have filed a police report, the authorities have yet to estimate the losses suffered, reported Bernama on Thursday (April 23). State police chief Mohd Yusoff Mamat said the syndicate worked from a resort in the Tanah Merah district, which they had converted into a call centre.The centre was allegedly staffed with three supervisors and 55 operators and operated from noon to midnight.In the ruse, scammers pretended to be Indonesian women and contacted their targets, believed to be Singaporean men, through social media platforms such as Xiaohongshu and Douyin.«Their modus operandi was to send messages such as 'hi' before building relationships through WhatsApp without video calls, and eventually deceiving victims into sending money,» said Mohd Yusoff.The con ran for about a month before Malaysian police raided resort premises on Wednesday morning.

A hawker stall owner in Toa Payoh is searching for a diner who accidentally paid $475 for a meal.Jia Cheng Noodle House's owner, surnamed Lin (transliteration), told the Chinese publication Shin Min Daily News on Friday (April 24) that she had checked her Nets transaction history after the lunch hour rush and found the erroneous transaction at 11.47am.«My turnover after lunch is usually around $200 to $300, so I was really startled to see several hundred dollars added,» the 45-year-old said, explaining that her earnings were past the $600 mark that afternoon.She was confused about how the payment might have occurred, saying that the dishes don't cost $4.75. Noodles or laksa costs $4.50, so she would understand somebody paying  $450 by mistake.When she attempted to review security camera footage, she realised that the camera's memory card was faulty and all the footage had been deleted, Lin said.She has since put out many posts on social media in a bid to reach out to the customer.

Dr Tan Puay Yok, executive director of the national parks and gardens cluster at the National Parks Board (NParks), and concurrently its group director of the Singapore Botanical Gardens and chief science and technology officer, will take over as the agency's chief executive officer (CEO) from Hwang Yu-Ning on June 1.Hwang, 57, will be appointed as chief of urban innovation and excellence at the Ministry of National Development (MND) on the same day.In a joint press release on Friday (April 24), MND and NParks said Hwang has built a distinguished career in the civil service, marked by strong leadership and a breadth of experience across policy and operational roles.Prior to her current appointment as the board's CEO, she held several senior appointments in ministries and statutory boards, including as deputy CEO and chief planner at the Urban Redevelopment Authority. Hwang is credited with driving active programming and partnerships with healthcare institutions and relevant agencies, thereby enabling more people to immerse themselves in therapeutic landscapes, gardening and activities that support physical and emotional well-being. 

While still legally married to his wife, a Singaporean man secretly took his domestic helper girlfriend as his second wife.Low Kok Peng, 61, was handed a two-month jail sentence on Friday (April 24) after pleading guilty to bigamy under the Women's Charter 1961 Act.Court documents seen by AsiaOne state that his second marriage to the 50-year-old Komariah, took place on May 5, 2024, in Batam.This happened after their eight-year-long affair. They met through a friend in 2016, reported CNA.Low was not divorced at the time when he tied the knot with Komariah.His legal wife, who he married in 1992 and has a daughter with, was unaware of his second marriage.After the Batam wedding, Low continued to live with his first wife.According to Lianhe Zaobao, Komariah wanted to marry Low because she wanted to buy property in Batam.She is facing a charge of bigamy, by allegedly marrying the Singaporean while knowing his marital status, and is also accused of breaching work permit regulations by not seeking approval from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for marriage.

SINGAPORE — Supermarket chain Sheng Siong is working to keep essential items affordable and available despite the trade disruption and higher costs resulting from the Iran war.The comments came in a Singapore Exchange filing on April 23 in response to shareholder questions ahead of the company’s April 29 annual general meeting.On whether the company plans to increase prices to cope with any cost increases, or foresees product shortages from supply chain disruptions, Sheng Siong said: “At this stage, the Group does not foresee any major disruptions that would materially affect the availability of essential products.“While there may be some upward pressure on costs and prices, the Group will continue to do its best to keep essential items available, affordable and competitively priced.”The company added that the conflict in the Middle East has contributed to trade rerouting, higher energy prices and increased freight costs. But the more immediate impact is likely to be higher global costs from rising fuel, fertiliser and packaging prices, rather than direct supply disruptions.

An 18-year-old French teenager, who was seen on video licking a straw from an iJooz machine at Goldhill Centre, was charged in court on Friday (April 24).Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien, a student at Essec Business School, was charged with one count each of committing mischief and public nuisance. According to charge sheets seen by AsiaOne, the alleged act of mischief took place at about 2pm on March 12, at Goldhill Centre along Thomson Road.iJooz, which has about 1,500 machines islandwide as of January 2025, had to replace all 500 straws in the affected machine, at a total valued cost of $5.It also implemented additional internal checks, inspections, straw replacements, and machine sanitation protocols in the wake of the incident.For filming himself committing the mischief, editing it on Snapchat and posting the edited video onto his Instagram story, Maximilien was charged with public nuisance.The 18-year-old, who was represented by lawyers Kalidass Murugaiyan and Kanthan Raghavendra, did not indicate how he would plead.

A Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) ambulance was involved in a road accident with a taxi on Thursday (April 23) morning.Responding to queries from AsiaOne, SCDF said the accident occurred along the slip road from Buangkok East Drive towards the Kallang–Paya Lebar Expressway at about 7.30am, and involved a minor collision with a car.SCDF said the ambulance was responding to a medical incident at the time, with its siren and emergency lights activated. There was no patient on board.SCDF added that another ambulance was dispatched to attend to the medical incident. No injuries were reported in the accident involving the ambulance.

Ten people have been apparently attacked by crows in Chinatown over the past week, with the majority of the victims reportedly being bald or balding men.According to a tip-off sent to Shin Min Daily News, three crows are behind the recent attacks in the vicinity of Chinatown Complex.One video shared with the Chinese evening paper shows two crows swooping down on an elderly man walking along Smith Street, who then looks up in shock and touches the back of his head.Another clip shows a crow flying towards another elderly man walking past the spiral car park, though the bird U-turns before making contact with the pedestrian.Shop owners told Shin Min on Wednesday (April 22) that the crows appeared in the past week and are likely roosting in a nearby tree.They had also never seen crow attacks occur in the area before the recent spate of incidents.«Recently, it happens nearly every day, typically at about 10am and 5pm. About two or three crows would circle around the area,» a shop owner said, suggesting that they might be protecting their young.

The Singapore Government has pledged US$100,000 (S$128,000) towards Jordan's Humanitarian Assistance Initiative for Lebanon as part of international efforts to address the situation there.The contribution will go towards the provision of medical supplies, food assistance, shelter and the hygiene needs of civilians in Lebanon, said Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in a statement on Thursday (April 23).It also urged the involved parties to adhere to the existing ceasefire and engage in negotiations for lasting resolution in the conflict, calling for the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure. Since the war began, more than one million people have been displaced, with at least 2,300 people killed in Israeli strikes, according to an update by Lebanon's Health Ministry on April 14.

An American with a deep appreciation for Singapore's food scene has turned his admiration into miniature art — recreating iconic hawker stalls using custom lego builds. Images of his creations, shared on Reddit on Monday (April 21), showcase detailed miniature versions of well-known local food stalls, drawing praise from netizens for their craftsmanship and nostalgic appeal.The creator, who goes by the name Matthew Hine on Instagram, said he took care to ensure the builds were as accurate as possible, working from a combination of photos sourced online as well as pictures he took during his visits to Singapore.Having visited the Republic multiple times over the last 25 years, Hine, 48, said in his Reddit post that one of his favourite aspects of the country is its vibrant hawker culture. «I decided I wanted to try to capture a bit of the magic in a couple of custom lego designs to put on my shelf at home, so I picked a couple of my personal favourite places—Toast Hut for kopi and kaya toast, and Rahmath Cheese Prata for roti prata,» he wrote.

A peregrine falcon chick — which took its first fight out of a recess in OCBC Centre earlier in April — was found dead on April 16.It is also the second of a full clutch of four which hatched on Feb 20 and 22 to have died this month, following the death of another chick on April 4.Dr Malcom Soh, principal researcher at the National Parks Board's wildlife management research branch, said the chick was found dead on the ground in the Central Business District (CBD).The cause of death in both instances has not been established. Checks on Facebook group Singapore Wildlife Sightings, where the peregrine chicks' movements have been regularly documented by observers, indicate that comments on the chick's death first surfaced last week.On Wednesday (April 22), Teo, an observer who has been documenting the chicks' growth, wrote that he has tried to confirm the claim by going to the CBD area to conduct observations.

A 23-year-old Malaysian man was arrested on April 14 for attempting to smuggle drugs into Singapore via Woodlands Checkpoint in the boot of his car.In a joint statement on Thursday (April 23), the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) said the drugs seized — 5,127g of cannabis and 2,072g of methamphetamine, also known as Ice — have an estimated value of $547,000.ICA officers had directed the car for enhanced checks and found two plastic bags believed to contain controlled drugs in the boot.CNB officers were immediately alerted and conducted further checks.Through follow-up investigations, CNB officers launched an operation in the vicinity of Woodlands Industrial Park on the same day.Two Bangladeshi men, aged 42 and 36, were arrested for suspected drug offences.«The drugs seized have an estimated worth of more than $547,000 and could potentially feed the addiction of about 1,900 abusers for a week,» said ICA and CNB.Investigations are ongoing.

Singapore has blocked six websites masquerading as local mainstream news sources, but which are actually operated by foreign actors.The inauthentic sites were identified by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which assessed that they could be used to launch hostile information campaigns.In such campaigns, foreign attackers use sophisticated online tools and tactics in a coordinated manner to advance a country's interests, such as by influencing domestic political discourse.In a joint statement on Thursday (April 23), MHA and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said the websites use spoofing or Singapore-associated terms in their domain name, and carry local news.«They are associated with other websites and networks which had previously been flagged by various international analysts as being inauthentic and carrying out mis- and dis-information activities,» the authorities added.Directions to Internet Access Service Providers (IASPs) to disable access to the six sites for Singapore users were issued by IMDA after it assessed MHA's findings.The blocked sites are:

A secondary school student seen bowing to motorists at a zebra crossing in a viral interaction simply wants to show her thanks, she told Lianhe Zaobao.Earlier in April, a Reddit user shared dashcam footage of a Bartley Secondary School student performing a deep bow as she crossed the road and waving at the car with a wide smile.The act of stopping and bow in front of cars at crossings — inspired from a Japanese greeting rooted in respect — had become an internet trend.Many netizens welcomed the culture and praised the schoolgirl for her courtesy and good manners.@asiaoneOthers wondered if she was doing the «bringing Japanese culture to Singapore» trend from TikTok. #sgnews #singapore #zebracrossing #pedestrians #car