A Republic of Singapore Navy's (RSN) Formidable-class frigate RSS Steadfast will make a port of call at the Tokyo International Cruise Terminal from Aug 21 to 22.While berthed there, Singaporeans based in Japan and locals can get a «free gangway». Free gangway is a naval and maritime term, typically meant for sailors and crew members who are not on duty to transit the gangway freely for their leave and other activities.In a series of social media posts between Aug 2 and Aug 13 (Thursday), RSN said that those who register for the visits will get to explore the warship and experience Singaporean food.

The police are appealing for the next-of-kin of Ong Ah Ying, 79, to come forward.In a news release on Thursday (Aug 13), the police said that Ong, who was living at Block 5 Beach Road, died in his home on Tuesday.The address is in the vicinity of the popular Beach Road Army Market and Golden Mile Food Centre.Ong's family, or anyone with information on his next-of-kin, can call the police hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/i-witness.All information will be kept strictly confidential, the police said.[[nid:735166]]editor@asiaone.com 

Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Thursday (Aug 13) sent a condolence letter to Chinese Premier Li Qiang following the passing of China's former premier Zhu Rongji.The 97-year-old died of illness on Wednesday morning, according to Chinese state media Xinhua News. His obituary, published on China's state media, described him as an «outstanding member of the Communist Party of China and loyal communist fighter...and an outstanding leader of the Party and state.»In the letter, sent on behalf of the Singapore Government, PM Wong described the late Zhu Rongji as «an old friend of Singapore».He recalled that the former premier had met with Singapore's former Prime Ministers Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong on many occasions, noting that Zhu was also the first Chinese leader to deliver the Singapore Lecture — a public lecture series organised by the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute where prominent world leaders, policymakers and scholars share their views on regional and global developments.

On two consecutive days last week, Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers foiled separate attempts by two motorcyclists to smuggle duty-unpaid cigarettes and vapes into Singapore via Woodlands Checkpoint.Photographs posted on its Facebook on Thursday (Aug 13) show the contraband items hidden in plastic bags within the storage compartments.The first case, involving a Malaysia-registered motorcycle, took place on Aug 3. According to ICA, its search and examination officers had directed the 46-year-old male Malaysian motorcyclist to undergo an enhanced check. There, officers found more than 30 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes, and over 60 vaporisers and related components, hidden in the motorcycle's storage box.The following day, on Aug 4, a 51-year-old male Singaporean motorcyclist was also directed to undergo enhanced checks, where ICA search and examination officers found more than 25 cartons and 30 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes, and over 60 vaporisers.These contraband items were hidden beneath the seat and the Singapore-registered motorcycle's storage box.

A woman was arrested for allegedly hurting her 13-year-old daughter at a mall in Havelock on Wednesday (Aug 12).In response to AsiaOne's queries, the police said that they were alerted to the incident at 2 Havelock Road — where Havelock 2 shopping mall is located — at 2.30pm. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) told AsiaOne that they received a call for assistance at around 3:15pm. The police arrested the 47-year-old woman for voluntarily causing hurt against a person under the age of 14.A Facebook user who runs a shop in the mall and witnessed the incident, posted about it on Facebook group Complaint Singapore, reported The Straits Times.The user wrote that «a mother hit her child in a public area» with a staff member from a nearby tuition centre standing beside them.«It escalated to the point where an ambulance arrived, and the child was taken away on a stretcher,» added the user in the now-deleted post.Both the police and SCDF confirmed that a 13-year-old girl was taken conscious to National University Hospital.Police also said that investigations are ongoing.

A Singapore-registered container ship, Nawata Bhum, struck a river embankment along the Hooghly River in West Bengal, India, while en route to Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata, on Wednesday (Aug 12).Videos of the incident posted on social media show the container-laden ship heading directly towards the riverbank. The ship does not appear to slow down or alter course before the collision.The ship's horn can be heard sounding repeatedly as it approaches the riverbank. Moments later, the ship's bow becomes lodged in the embankment. Based on the footage reviewed by AsiaOne, there were no other vessels in the ship's immediate path at the time of the incident.The road running alongside the embankment also appeared deserted, with no visible damage from the collision apart from affected vegetation.Checks by AsiaOne on vessel-tracking platform MarineTraffic showed the vessel making a right turn north of Latpatia at around 10.26am (India time).Its declared next port of call was Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, formerly known as Kolkata Port.

Workers' Party chief Pritam Singh has been struck off the roll of advocates and solicitors.He had arrived at the Supreme Court on Thursday (Aug 13) morning at 9.37am for a disciplinary hearing initiated by the Law Society of Singapore.This is over his conviction for giving false evidence under oath. Singh's appeal against the conviction for lying to a parliamentary committee in 2021 was dismissed by the High Court last December.He had earlier told the media scrum: «No questions.»His case was heard before the Court of Three Judges, comprising Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Justice Kannan Ramesh and Justice See Kee Oon.Chief Justice Menon said in court on Thursday that it is not disputed that the offence Singh was convicted of involved dishonesty, reported CNA.Singh was represented by Peter Low Chambers lawyers, Peter Low, Elaine Low and Senior Counsel Chelva Retnam Rajah. LawSoc is represented by a team from Drew & Napier, led by Senior Counsel Cavinder Bull.

Eligible Singaporeans will be receiving between $400 and $600 in cash as part of the Enhanced Budget 2026 cost-of-living special payment in September.In a press release on Thursday (Aug 13), the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said that over 2.4 million Singaporeans will be eligible for the payment, which will be automatically credited from Sept 9.The cost-of-living payment, announced by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong earlier in March, previously ranged from $200 to $400 in cash but was increased in light of the impact of the Middle East conflict on Singapore's economy, Senior Minister of State for Finance Jeffrey Siow said in Parliament on April 7.The payment is meant to help Singapore citizens with their living expenses, with more assistance provided for lower-income individuals, said MOF.Singapore citizens aged 21 and older in 2026, who own no more than one property will be eligible for the payment. Also, they must not have an assessable income in the year of assessment 2025 that exceeds $100,000 and reside in Singapore.

Students and staff in Xinmin Secondary School were evacuated after the school was alerted to a bomb threat on Thursday morning (Aug 13).The Hougang school shared in a message to parents and guardians that they had been notified of the threat and subsequently evacuated the premises at around 8.30am, The Straits Times reported.«The police conducted a thorough search of our premises and no suspicious items were found,» said the school.All staff and students were accounted for, the message also stated.The students have reportedly resumed classes after returning to their classrooms.AsiaOne has contacted Xinmin Secondary School and the police for more information.[[nid:739933]]khooyihang@asiaone.com

Workers' Party chief Pritam Singh has arrived at the Supreme Court on Thursday (Aug 13) morning at 9.37am for a disciplinary hearing concerning the Law Society of Singapore's bid to strike him off the rolls.This is over his conviction for giving false evidence under oath. Singh's appeal against the conviction for lying to a parliamentary committee in 2021 was dismissed by the High Court last December.Singh tells the media scrum: «No questions.»The Court of Three Judges, which has the power to disbar or suspend a lawyer, will hear the disciplinary proceedings.Singh, who is an MP for Aljunied GRC, is a non-practising lawyer.According to the Singapore Courts' hearing list, the proceedings — scheduled to take place at 10am on Thursday — will be heard by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Justice Kannan Ramesh and Justice See Kee Oon.The nature of the hearing is described as «disciplinary proceedings for advocates and solicitors of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Singapore».

A 23-year-old Malaysian man was arrested on Tuesday (Aug 11) for his alleged involvement in scams after he was found with fake inking instruments and employee passes at Woodlands Checkpoint.Police said on Wednesday night that he was directed by Immigration and Checkpoints Authority officers (ICA) to undergo enhanced checks at Woodlands Checkpoint's bus arrival hall.There, ICA  officers found fake stamps bearing the emblems of the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Home Affairs.Several fake employee passes bearing his photograph were also found on him.Investigations have since established that he had not worked for any of the organisations whose passes were found on him.According to the police, such counterfeit passes and official-looking instruments are tactics commonly employed by scammers to lend credibility to their operations, deceiving victims into believing they are dealing with representatives of a legitimate organisation.He will be charged in court on Thursday with the offence of making or possessing a counterfeit instrument with intent to commit forgery.

Malaysian authorities rescued two Singaporeans in Johor Bahru (JB) on Tuesday (Aug 11) after they were allegedly kidnapped and held for ransom.One of them, a 33-year-old Singaporean fugitive wanted for breaching parole for a drug offence, had been hiding in Malaysia for three months before being kidnapped, reported The Star. The police discovered this after rescuing him and his 28-year-old Singaporean girlfriend, said Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department (CID) director M. Kumar on Wednesday.Six Malaysians, including the mastermind, aged between 32 and 46, have been arrested, according to local media reports. Five of the suspects reportedly have criminal records, while four of them tested positive for drugs. The two victims also tested positive for meth and are currently in police custody, reported New Straits Times (NST). The police also seized an array of items, including ransom money and items totalling RM264,440 (S$82,800), said Kumar 

Singapore's founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew was willing to listen to the views of younger ministers, and would ask for alternatives to be put up should there be a disagreement on views, said former deputy prime minister S. Jayakumar on Wednesday (Aug 15) at the launch of his book.Titled Creating Three Unique Singapore Laws: An Inside Story, Prof Jayakumar's book provides an insider's account of how the elected presidency (EP), Non-Constituency Members of Parliament (NCMP) and Group Representation Constituencies (GRC) were conceived, debated and established through constitutional amendment.Addressing common misconceptions about decision-making in Lee Kuan Yew's Cabinet, Prof Jayakumar wrote in his book: «But, contrary to prevailing myths, especially in the mid-1980s, he was not a dictatorial prime minister who railroaded his proposals through a meek, compliant Cabinet. »Instead, he took a collegial approach, consistent with the principle of collective responsibility in a Cabinet government.”

Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday (Aug 12) warned members of the public of the presence of fake websites impersonating seven Home Team agencies and itself. The seven Home Team agencies are: the Singapore Police Force (SPF), Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB), Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA), Singapore Prison Service (SPS), Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX), and Home Team Academy (HTA).In a statement posted on its Facebook page, MHA said that HTX has detected over 500 such fake websites, adding that steps were taken to take them down, with all identified websites removed by Tuesday.The ministry said the fake websites replicated the official branding and publicly available content from its website and that of the seven agencies.«(This) could have potentially misled members of the public into believing that they were accessing official MHA or Home Team agency websites,» it said.