Partnership between the Government and communities to create synergies between local infrastructure developments and events can benefit both residents and heartland businesses, said Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat.Referring to this partnership, Chee explained that placemaking can have better outcomes for residents and businesses in different communities.Placemaking refers to the proactive management of spaces to make it better through various means such as infrastructural improvements, event organising, and engagements .Chee was addressing residents and heartland merchants during a ministerial community visit to the Changi ward of Pasir Ris-Changi GRC on Saturday (June 13). During the visit, he witnessed the launch of the Changi Delights Card, a community initiative that gives Pasir-Ris Changi residents discounts of between 5 and 50 per cent at participating neighbourhood businesses, including beauty saloons, eateries, laundry and pet grooming services.

With scam calls becoming increasingly rampant, a 41-year-old mother of five did not believe it when she was told that she was the lucky winner of $30,000.Siti Hajar Ramli had received a call from Sheng Siong informing her that she won the second prize in its Selamat Hari Raya lucky draw, reported Berita Harian (BH).She almost declined the call when she saw that it came from an unknown number, and remained sceptical, thinking that it was a scam even when the Sheng Siong staff introduced herself.«I have been receiving a lot of scam calls lately. When I received the call, I was about to get angry with the caller,» BH quoted her as saying.Siti was only convinced after verifying that the call had come from Sheng Siong's headquarters, and after the staff verified her address and identification number.Siti, who runs a home-based business, told BH that she often buys ingredients for her business from the Sheng Siong branch at Junction 10.Her 10-year-old daughter had helped to fill in the lucky draw form at the time and prayed for good fortune.

Singapore leaders on Friday (June 12) sent their condolences to Thailand after the passing of King Maha Vajiralongkorn's eldest daughter Princess Bajrakitiyabha Narendira Debyavati.She was hospitalised in December 2022 after a sudden loss of consciousness caused by a heart condition while visiting the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima. Th 47-year-old died on Thursday evening, after her condition worsened due to an intra-abdominal infection, colitis, low blood pressure, arrhythmias, and blood clotting disorders, the palace statement said.Princess Bajrakitiyabha studied law at Cornell University, obtaining a Master's degree and a doctorate, and worked as an attorney in the Thai Office of the Attorney-General between 2006 and 2011.From 2012 to 2014, she was Thailand's ambassador to Austria, Slovenia and Slovakia, before returning to the attorney-general's office in Bangkok.

The police are looking for the driver of a white BMW car after a hit-and-run accident in Sengkang on Friday (June 12) night.A picture of the incident circulating on motoring chat groups show a white BMW car stopped along a footpath along Sengkang East Drive, before Buangkok East Drive. Map showing where the hit-and-run happened on Friday (June 12) night. GRAPHIC: Google Maps, Social media The driver's door is left open.Meanwhile, the vehicle's front wheels appear to be lodged in a slight upslope.In response to AsiaOne's queries, the police stated they were alerted to the incident, involving a car they believe had self-skidded, at about 9.35pm.While no injuries were reported in the incident, the driver left the scene before police officers arrived.

Three people died after a supply boat sank off Pasir Panjang Terminal on Friday (June 12).In a statement, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said the incident occurred at about 9.30am when a supply boat sank following a collision with a landing craft.MPA said that it joined the Police Coast Guard (PCG) and the Singapore Civil Defence Force's Marine Division in immediately deploying vessels to the scene and commencing search and rescue operations.The authority added that the landing craft remained stable and no injuries were reported among its crew.Three bodies, believed to be crew members of the sunken supply boat, were subsequently recovered by PCG.Responding to queries from AsiaOne, the police said they were alerted to a case of collision between two vessels at sea off Pasir Panjang Wharf at about 9.40am.Three crew members, aged between 38 and 53, were retrieved from the waters by Police Coast Guard and pronounced dead by an SCDF paramedic. Police investigations are ongoing.

Six people were taken to hospital for smoke inhalation after a fire broke out in a HDB flat in Sengkang on Friday (June 12).The incident happened at about 4.10pm in a bedroom of a third-floor unit at Block 125 Rivervale Street.Responding to AsiaOne's queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that no one was in the unit when firefighters arrived at the scene, adding that the fire was extinguished with a water jet.The police evacuated about 120 people from the affected block as a precautionary measure.SCDF said it took six people to the Singapore General Hospital for smoke inhalation.

Users around the world were unable to access Meta’s Facebook and Instagram on Friday (June 12) evening. According to data on outage tracking sites such as Downdetector, users began experiencing issues at around 9pm (Singapore time).The number of reports reached a high of 1,376 at 9.53pm. Users in Australia, Canada, US, and the United Kingdom, also reported issues locally. Checks by AsiaOne with a pool of about 50 Singapore-based users at 10.30pm showed that about 80 per cent were able to access Meta’s applications, albeit with intermittent loading issues — depending on the source of content they were viewing. Meta has not issued a public statement as at 10.45pm.[[nid:730049]]editor@asiaone.com 

A father of a young child took to social media on Tuesday (June 9) to air his grievances about having to tap out of the gantry at an MRT station before he could pass his daughter to his in-laws.In an open letter addressed to transport minister Jeffrey Siow, user Daniel Chow, 33, said he and his wife sometimes have to work on Saturday mornings and he would take the train and pass his child over to his in-laws.While most SMRT station staff would grant his request to open the side gate beside the gantry so that he can push his pram through, one station manager would insist that he tap out and exit the gantry.«Fertility rate is dropping. Cost of living is rising. And I have to waste $2 each time? Imagine a single parent who has to seek the parents' help on a daily basis, it will cost an additional $80 a month,» wrote the fitness specialist.

Singapore households will pay more for waste collection services from July 1, said the National Environment Agency (NEA). In a statement on Friday (June 12), NEA said that the monthly fee for HDB flats and non-landed private housing will increase by $0.44 from $10.20 to $10.64. Landed homes will see an increase of $1.50 from $34.00 to $35.50. All fees will be inclusive of goods and services tax.NEA said that the revised fees will ensure that Singapore's overall waste management system continues to operate sustainably.«This is part of regular review of refuse collection fees to reflect rising operational and manpower costs faced by public waste collectors,» said the agency.The public waste collection fee was last revised in 2024.To help ease the impact on households, the agency added that refuse collection fees for HDB residents can be offset through U-Save rebates provided under the permanent GST Voucher scheme.U-Save rebates for 2026 was disbursed in April, followed by July and October and January 2027. 

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will deliver his National Day Rally speech on Aug 23.The event will be held at the Institute of Technical Education College Central in Ang Mo Kio, said the Prime Minister's Office on Friday (June 12).The rally is an annual platform for Singapore's prime minister to address the nation, report on the progress it has made and share important policies.It typically takes place on the first or second Sunday after National Day.This rally will be PM Wong's third.At last year's National Day Rally, he spoke about how the Government will work with unions and workers to redesign jobs amid new tech including AI. He also talked about helping fresh grads secure employment opportunities.

Despite ongoing «technical issues» with displaying arrival timings, bus services are operating as per normal, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) stated in an announcement on its MyTransport application on Friday (June 12).The announcement was made just after 1pm after LTA detected the issue around 12.30pm.A check at around 3pm shows that the application still does not display arrival timings.Meanwhile, the SG BusLeh application shows timings that are inaccurate.«We apologise for the inconvenience caused and are working to resolve this,» the announcement stated, thanking commuters for their patience.AsiaOne has contacted LTA for more information.There was a similar issue in January this year as inaccurate bus timings and long waiting times were displayed at commuter touchpoints following technical issues affecting the arrival time system.The issue was detected on Jan 10, with LTA releasing a statement to address the matter on Jan 21.

The police are looking for the driver of a white Volkswagen hatchback car after a hit-and-run accident with a motorcycle in Sembawang on Wednesday (June 10) afternoon.AsiaOne understands that the motorcycle involved is a Land Transport Authority (LTA) enforcement patrol motorcycle used in daily operations.Photos seen by AsiaOne show the car stopped at the drop-off point of Block 364A Sembawang Crescent, and at least two LTA outriders are seen inspecting the vehicle, which has its doors open.One LTA enforcement vehicle is parked further along the driveway.  The driver of a Volkswagen Golf hatchback fled after hitting an LTA enforcement patrol motorcycle. PHOTO: Social media Police told AsiaOne they were alerted to the incident at about 4.25pm.

A total of 11 people, aged between 17 and 23, are being investigated by the police for their alleged involvement in illegal online gambling and misuse of bank accounts.Police said on Thursday (June 11) night that they conducted a gambling suppression operation between June 4 and 11.The nine men and two women are alleged to have facilitated illegal online betting for others by obtaining online betting accounts from unlicensed betting platforms, or by providing personal bank accounts for unlicensed operators to conduct transactions.Preliminary investigations revealed that seven of the 11 persons being investigated are believed to have either sold or relinquished control of their personal bank accounts to illegal gambling syndicates.They had allegedly opened bank accounts before relinquishing them and the corresponding banking credentials to syndicates.Another three persons are alleged to have obtained illegal online betting accounts from unlicensed gambling operators for others to participate in illegal online gambling activities.

For a second consecutive day on Wednesday (June 10), there was a reported case of an overturned car allegedly involving drink-driving.The accident, involving two cars, happened along Ubi Avenue 1 at about 9.45pm. Map showing where the accident in Ubi happened. GRAPHIC: Google Maps, Social media Videos of the accident posted on social media show a black-coloured car overturned along Ubi Avenue 1, just after the slip road from Ubi Road 3.Another dark-coloured car is stopped further ahead — across one lane on each side of the road.