New homes will be developed at Gillman Barracks and Sunset Way in the near future, with plans to retain key ecological and heritage features at both sites, said the Housing and Development Board (HDB). In a statement on Friday (July 10), HDB said Gillman Barracks will be transformed into a residential estate comprising both public and private housing, while the Sunset Way site in Clementi will offer public housing integrated with greenery and nature.The developments are part of HDB's efforts to provide more housing options as demand for homes in Singapore remains strong, driven by marriage and family formation as well as smaller household sizes. No timeline has been announced yet for the construction of these HDB flats.To guide the developments, HDB commissioned environmental and heritage studies for both sites to assess their ecological and historical significance, as well as identify measures to mitigate the impact of development.

SINGAPORE – The only detected lightning strike to hit the ground in the Pasir Ris Beach area on July 5 – the one that killed a paddleboarder – originated from a main thunderstorm cloud “a few kilometres away”, the weatherman told The Straits Times on July 9.Responding to queries from The Straits Times, the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) said thunderstorms had begun developing in the north of Singapore near the Yishun area at about 3.20pm on July 5, before moving north-westwards.Forecasts for thundery showers were issued for many locations in the west, central and north of Singapore, said MSS, which is under the National Environment Agency (NEA).At about 4.30pm, thunderstorms developed around Punggol and moved westwards away from Pasir Ris. These intensified rapidly into a large thunderstorm that extended over the Straits of Johor, it added.Based on NEA’s lightning detection system, several lightning strikes were observed over the north of Singapore and the Straits of Johor.

A 24-year-old man was on July 2 charged for the alleged importation of 100 etomidate vaporiser pods.Sheikh Omar Bin Mohamad Ismail was detained by Immigration and Checkpoints Authority officers at Woodlands Checkpoint on June 30 after search and examination officers found two vaporisers and 100 vaporiser pods concealed in his car.The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) said in a news release on Thursday (July 9) that subsequent laboratory testing confirmed that the seized pods contained etomidate.Amid ongoing investigations, Sheikh Omar was remanded a week to assist with further investigations and his case was mentioned again on Thursday.He will appear in court on August 18.HSA reminded would-be perpetrators that it takes a serious view of vaporiser and etomidate trafficking offences.Under the Tobacco and Vaporisers Control Act, etomidate and its analogues are listed as specified psychoactive substances in the Schedule.

A 24-year-old Singaporean man was placed on 15 months' probation for amputating his pet rat's limb without anaesthesia, and illegally taking and selling wildlife.Jenson Neo, who was caught in a sting operation by the National Parks Board (NParks) in 2024, pleaded guilty to five of 13 charges under the Animals and Birds Act on Tuesday (July 7), reported Lianhe Zaobao.The remaining charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.According to court documents cited by Zaobao, Neo had amputated his pet rat's injured front right leg on July 9, 2022, after believing the limb had become gangrenous.He carried out the procedure himself despite not being a qualified veterinarian.Before the procedure, Neo applied only numbing cream to the rat's leg, which was insufficient to alleviate the animal's pain.Illegal attempted sale of civetNeo came into the attention of authorities in 2024 when he attempted to sell a civet online. He had found a common palm civet near his home along Jalan Dermawan on Jan 26, 2024, and illegally kept it as a pet for about a month, according to court documents.

SINGAPORE — A night-shift nurse who rented a room in an HDB flat won a claim against her landlord after a dispute over daytime use of an air-conditioner escalated into harassment, an early termination of the tenancy and, eventually, hearings at the Small Claims Tribunals (SCT).The landlord was ordered to pay the nurse $1,536.47, including an $800 security deposit that she had withheld.The landlord later tried to set aside the judgment after repeatedly failing to attend court hearings, but Tribunal Magistrate Leon Abraham Tan dismissed the application, finding that she had deliberately stayed away despite being given multiple opportunities to appear.In grounds of decision released on July 7, the magistrate criticised what he described as the landlord's «airy disregard» for court dates, and said her conduct reflected «a conspicuous lack of respect for the judicial process».The names of the nurse and landlord were redacted in the judgment.The dispute arose after the Malaysian nurse rented a common bedroom in the five-room HDB flat from September 2024 under a one-year tenancy agreement.

A 67-year-old man was pronounced dead after he was found slumped over a void deck table at a Housing and Development Board (HDB) block in Yishun on Thursday (July 9) afternoon.The incident happened at about 4.15pm at Block 128 Yishun Street 11.Photographs and videos of the incident an eyewitness shared with AsiaOne show a man on a void deck seat, dressed in a blue long-sleeved shirt and beige pants.His head was rested on the void deck table, and his black-coloured bag was placed beside him.At first glance, the man appeared to be fast asleep with nothing amiss.The eyewitness, who declined to be named, said police officers arrived at around 4.30pm and were seen trying to wake the man.A police cordon was later set up around the void deck and the officers were seen with surgical gloves.Over the next few hours, police investigators were seen checking the scene and its surroundings.A police hearse brought the man's body away at around 8.35pm.

A Singaporean man pleaded guilty to two counts of child abuse on Thursday (July 9) after hurting a student with a hanger and forcing him to drink his own urine.The man was also charged with one count of voluntarily causing grievous hurt, and one count of providing false or misleading information to the Ministry of Manpower.The 31-year-old man had abused multiple students while employed by his aunt who ran an educational facility. He cannot be named due to a gag order protecting the identity of the abused children.He was hired to tutor primary school students in English and Mathematics, and was responsible for taking care of the foreign students staying at the facility, reported The Straits Times (ST). According to court documents seen by AsiaOne, he did not have any teaching or childcare qualifications.Forced boy to drink urineThe man had repeatedly abused a six-year-old male Chinese national who had moved into the facility in January 2023.For example, the student was locked in the toilet, and was only allowed to consume bread and water.

Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and the National Healthcare Group (NHG) have issued advisories after TikTok posts featuring a woman allegedly posing as a healthcare professional to promote health products surfaced online.A Facebook post by SGH on Tuesday (July 7) shows screenshots of two TikTok posts featuring a woman allegedly impersonating a healthcare worker while promoting health products. In one of the images, the woman is seen wearing a doctor's coat with the SGH name embroidered above the left pocket, while another shows her dressed in a SingHealth uniform. The word «scam» is displayed in red, in between the two images.The hospital said it is aware of fake advertisements circulating on social media that depict an individual dressed in an SGH healthcare uniform promoting health products.«The person featured in these advertisements is not an SGH employee, representative or affiliate. These advertisements are not authorised by or affiliated with SGH,» the hospital said.

A 15-year-old is among 69 persons being investigated by the police for their alleged involvement in unlicensed moneylending activities. Police said in a news release on Thursday (July 9) that they conducted an islandwide enforcement operation from July 1 to 7.The operation saw officers from the Criminal Investigation Department and the seven police land divisions conduct raids across Singapore.Preliminary investigations revealed that nine persons had harassed debtors at their residences, while 15 others were runners who had assisted in unlicensed moneylending activities by carrying out Automated Teller Machine (ATM) transfers.Also under investigation are 36 individuals who are believed to have opened bank accounts and provided their ATM cards, personal identification numbers as well as internet banking tokens to unlicensed moneylenders to facilitate their illegal operations.

A food delivery rider found himself in a conundrum when a customer denied having placed a cash-on-delivery (COD) order and refused to pay for the food.Two other riders subsequently showed up at the same Clementi condominium unit, leading him to believe they had fallen victim to an alleged case of loanshark harassment.Klinsmann Tay captured the incident in a series of TikTok videos, which have racked up more than 1.8 million cumulative views.Tay told Stomp that he arrived at the condominium at around 3.45pm on Monday (July 6).After knocking on the door, the unit's landlady told him the intended recipient — her tenant — was not at home and had not placed the order, despite the delivery details matching the tenant's personal information.Unable to reach the customer after several attempts, Tay began suspecting the order was fraudulent.His suspicions deepened when a second delivery rider arrived at the same unit with another COD order. Tay intercepted the rider and warned him that the delivery might be part of a scam.

A video of a monitor lizard lounging in foamy water in Pasir Ris has raised pollution fears, in addition to sparking concern among netizens.The video of the reptile at Sungei Api Api river was posted in the Facebook group Singapore Wildlife Sightings on Sunday (July 5).«This morning, my friend witnessed this sad sight of a monitor lizard 'bathing' in soapy residue that was pouring into Sungei Api Api at Pasir Ris,» said the concerned netizen.The original poster (OP) added: «Is this what our wildlife has to put up with?»The incident was also not the first time it had been observed in the area, claimed the OP, who urged the authorities to look into the matter.Several netizens in the comments section supported the OP by calling for investigations into the origin of the foam and whether it posed any risk to wildlife.

If you're thinking of getting yourself or your loved ones a piece of jewellery marketed as gold-wrapped silver (GWS), you may want to take a closer look before making a purchase.GWS refers to silver jewellery that has a layer of gold mechanically pressed or wrapped around a silver core. In a joint media release on Thursday (July 9), the Consumer Association of Singapore (Case), the Singapore Jewellers Association (SJA) and the Singapore Pawnbrokers' Association (SPA) warned consumers about the ambiguous marketing of jewellery labelled as «gold-wrapped» amid rising gold prices.Case said it commissioned a mystery shopping exercise and tested three sample GWS pieces. It found that the thickness of the exterior layer of gold «differed substantially» between the samples.Case raised concerns that consumers have no way of knowing the thickness of the exterior gold content of their GWS purchases and cannot independently verify the thickness of the exterior gold layer by themselves.