A total of 550 people, aged between 16 and 83, are being investigated by the police following a 10-day crackdown on scams and unlicensed moneylending activities. Police said in a news release on Friday (July 10) that the operation was conducted by officers from the Bedok Police Division from June 29 to July 8.The 341 men and 209 women being investigated are believed to be involved in over 1,800 cases of scams and unlicensed moneylending activities.Of these, some 418 people were allegedly involved in scam-related activities such as e-commerce, investment, job, rental, phishing and loan-related scams as money mules, resulting in losses of over $14.8 million.They are now being investigated for offences of cheating, assisting another to retain proceeds from criminal conduct and unauthorised disclosure of Singpass access code.The remaining 132 persons are being investigated for their alleged roles in unlicensed moneylending activities.According to the police, the transactions involved amounted to more than $2.3 million.

It's small, thin and may even have a crunch to it - but an anchovy it likely is not.A woman has found a dead centipede in her dish of mee hoon kueh while dining at Malaysia Boleh! In Bugis Junction on Tuesday (July 7), Lianhe Zaobao reported on Thursday.Speaking with the Chinese publication, diner Huang Jingjing (transliteration) shared that she had bought the dish for takeaway from a stall there at around 12pm that day.Taking it back to her office to eat, the 47-year-old had only taken four bites before she came to a halt.Huang was shocked to discover what appeared to be a dead centipede in her dish, immediately taking photographs and videos of the insect as proof.She then went back to the stall with her evidence, confronting staff - but staff claimed the insect was simply an anchovy, Zaobao reported.«I was furious and told them that if they ate that 'anchovy' on the spot, I would let this matter rest,» Huang told the Chinese daily.The staff member then offered to provide a refund or cook up another dish for her, which Huang did not fully accept.

One former Nanyang Girls' High School student is paying forward the kindness she received as a teenager, raising more than $57,000 for her former school canteen stall owner who is battling a cancer relapse.Sharing the appeal in a TikTok post on Sunday (July 5), Vivian Zhao described Anna Ng, affectionately known as Auntie Anna, as someone who went above and beyond for students during her years at the school.«She always made off-menu special meals for us to satisfy our cravings (and) always gave us huge portions in fear that we would go hungry,» Zhao wrote, adding that there were also occasions when Ng refused to accept payment from students.Ng, 62, first shared her cancer diagnosis in 2022, after revealing that she had become her family's sole breadwinner when her husband, now 67, suffered a stroke in 2000.She had taken over an economy rice stall at Nanyang Girls' High School in 2022, but struggled to make ends meet while facing about $20,000 in medical bills following her ovarian cancer diagnosis in June that year.

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.