A victim who was involved in an Orchard Road brawl in the early hours of Thursday (July 2) was repeatedly slashed with a kitchen knife on his neck and the back of his head, a court heard.At the State Courts on Friday, three alleged assailants were charged with causing hurt with a deadly weapon with common intention.The trio, Jason Li Zhijie, 33, Clapton Goh Jun Siong, 27, and Badril Fitri Khasnuri, 25, are accused of committing the offence at about 2.55am along Buyong Road at the junction of Orchard Road.The location is near the Concorde Hotel Singapore.The three men will return to court in two weeks' time on July 17.If found guilty, they each face a jail term of up to seven years, a fine, caning, or any combination of such punishments.Under the law, when a crime is committed jointly by several persons, each person is liable for it as if it was committed by just one of them.The fight reportedly broke out when two groups of people clashed.The Singapore Civil Defence Force said five people were taken conscious to hospital.

Workers' Party (WP) leader Kenneth Foo was one of 20 NSmen who were presented with the NSman of the Year award on Singapore Armed Forces Day (SAF) on Wednesday (July 1), according to the party's chief Pritam Singh.In posts on social media on Thursday, Singh said Foo was recognised for his «excellent national service performance and contributions», adding that he «richly deserved» the title.«Thank you for serving as a role model for so many of us, and anyone in uniform. Well done and congratulations! Majulah Singapura!»Foo, who is WP's deputy organising secretary, contested in the newly established Tampines Changkat SMC at the 2025 General Election, garnering 43.83 per cent of valid votes and losing to the People Action Party's Desmond Choo.

SINGAPORE — A 32-year-old man who tried to rape a former flatmate failed in his appeal for a retrial, and instead had his jail term increased by just over a year for the «troubling» way he had argued his appeal.Gao Xiong, who was a PhD student at the time of his offences, was originally sentenced on Dec 1, 2025, by the High Court to six years, six months and six weeks' jail, as well as three strokes of the cane.He was represented by a lawyer when he pleaded guilty to one count of attempted rape and three counts of criminal trespass.At his appeal hearing on May 12, the Chinese national, who did not have a lawyer, claimed that he was «confused» when he pleaded guilty and that he was not given the opportunity to address the court.Gao also blamed the victim for causing him to perpetuate the crime. He even tried to blame her flatmate, who had dragged him away from the woman, claiming that the intervention prevented him from apologising to the victim.On July 3, the Court of Appeal increased Gao's jail term to seven years, seven months and six weeks.

The personal information and property addresses of an estimated 70,000 people have been affected by a data security incident at the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), following unauthorised access to an IBM-managed cloud environment.In a statement on Friday (July 3) afternoon, SLA said the unauthorised access involved a data set created for the purpose of vendor development and testing.The data set, which was created in 1998 and updated periodically over the years, was intended to only contain mock and anonymised testing data based on property ownership and lodgement records.However, it has since been found to contain the names, NRIC numbers, and property addresses of an estimated 70,000 people. According to SLA, this information should have been anonymised, but was not, with investigations underway to determine how this occurred. IBM has since revoked access associated with the affected development and testing environment to prevent any other unauthorised access.

Two Singaporeans and two Malaysians have been charged in court over alleged workplace corruption involving more than $530,000 in bribes, as well as offences including money laundering, forgery and giving false information to a public officer.According to a Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) press release, those charged are: Singaporean company directors Panneerselvam s/o Arunasalam from H&A Engineering Pte Ltd and Tan Swee Soon from San Hoe Hardware Pte Ltd, as well as Malaysian nationals Logeswaran Bandiyya, a former shift engineer, and Lim Siew Teng, a former manager.The various offences allegedly occurred in 2021 and 2022, and primarily involved 45-year-old Logeswaran from REC Solar Pte Ltd.Sought another $310k after receiving $220k in bribesThe CPIB alleged that between July and December 2021, Lim and Tan conspired to give Logeswaran gratification totalling $220,000 in the form of cash cheques and bank transfers, as an inducement for him to render assistance to their company, San Hoe, and further its business interests with REC.

Timor-Leste conferred its highest honour, the Order of Timor-Leste (Grand Collar), on Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Friday (July 3). In an earlier statement issued on July 1, the Prime Minister's Office said that the award recognises Singapore's contributions to Timor-Leste's national development, and support for its membership in the Association of Southeast Asian nations (Asean).The country became the bloc's 11th member in October 2025.PM Wong received the Order of Timor-Leste (Grand Collar) from President Jose Ramos-Horta a ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Dili.In his remarks at the conferment ceremony, PM Wong said he is receiving the award on behalf of Singapore and the many Singaporeans who have contributed to the friendship between the two countries. «The award belongs to those who have served here over the years – conducting training, sharing professional knowledge, building capabilities, and living and working alongside our Timorese friends in support of nation-building,» the prime minister added.

A 70-year-old man died after reportedly falling into the sea while unloading cargo off Pulau Ubin on Wednesday (July 1). The deceased, identified as Huang Laiming (transliteration), was a boatman and had been transporting construction supplies to Pulau Ubin on behalf of a contractor, according to Chinese publication 8world. He had reportedly finished unloading the cargo and was standing at the front of a boat when he lost his balance and fell into the sea. He then struck his head on a rock in the water and later died from his injuries.In response to AsiaOne's queries, the police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they were alerted at about 2pm to the incident at 91 Loyang Way, which is the address of both the Police Coast Guard's Loyang Base and the Loyang Marine Fire Post.The deceased was retrieved from the waters and taken unconscious to Changi General Hospital, where he later died, the authorities said. Boatman for over 10 yearsOne of the deceased's younger brothers, Huang, told the Chinese news outlet that he learned of the accident after receiving a call from workers at the scene. 

Pek Kio resident Uncle Thien, famed for using twigs to create portraits on walkways, has died at 83.The retiree was a familiar face around the neighbourhood, often choosing to work on his art in the vicinity of Block 44 Owen Road.MP Alvin Tan, who oversees the Moulmein-Cairnhill division of Tanjong Pagar GRC, paid tribute to the talented twig artist on social media on Thursday (July 2).Uncle Thien was «happiest» when he assembled figures out of twigs in a quiet public spot, said Tan, who first met the elderly man in 2020.«Uncle Thien is dear to us in Pek Kio. He was unwell recently and passed on yesterday (July 1)...Attended his wake today and met his family who told us how he felt so at home here with us,» he added.«We will miss him.» 

Singapore will open up selected sectors and occupations to Timor-Leste workers next year, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced on Friday (July 3), during his two-day official visit to the country.Describing it as a «win-win initiative», PM Wong said at the joint press conference with his Timor-Leste counterpart Xanana Gusmao that this will be a valuable partnership for both sides. «(It will allow) Timorese people to gain skills and work experience, and then come back eventually to contribute to Timor-Leste. At the same time, it helps to meet the manpower needs of Singapore in selected sectors,» he explained.The prime minister also pointed out that the move goes beyond being an economic initiative, and could build closer people-to-people ties and business-to-business exchanges, thereby facilitating further cooperation in future.Echoing the point, Timor-Leste PM Gusmao highlighted that human resources is one of the «greatest challenges» faced by the developing country.