A 21-year-old Australian woman, who allegedly stole from a shop in Changi Airport in June, was arrested upon her return to Singapore last week.She will be charged in court on Friday (July 24). Police said in a news release on Thursday evening that the incident happened at about 11.30pm on June 11, at The Shilla Duty Free outlet located in the transit area of Terminal 1.According to the police, an employee at the outlet noticed a box of perfume, valued at $312.80, missing from the display shelf.Checks on closed circuit television (CCTV) footage show the woman taking the item from the display shelf and leaving without making payment. Her identity was established and she was arrested upon her return on July 18.If found guilty of the offence of theft in dwelling, she could be jailed for up to seven years, fined, or both.The police also warned would-be perpetrators that they take a serious view of shop theft cases, adding that retailers are increasingly leveraging CCTV footages to lodge police reports against shoplifters, even when immediate apprehension is not possible.

HSBC said on Friday (July 24) it will sell its Singapore life and health insurance business to Germany's Allianz, in a deal valuing the unit at S$2.7 billion.The disposal is expected to generate a pre-tax gain of US$1.8 billion and an estimated up to 15 basis-point increase to CET1 for the HSBC Group, the bank said.A sale will mark another step in HSBC CEO Georges Elhedery's drive to simplify Europe's largest bank, redeploying capital into businesses and markets where it sees stronger returns, while preserving Singapore as a key wealth and wholesale banking hub.For insurers, the HSBC asset offers a rare chance to gain scale in Singapore, a wealthy, tightly regulated market where distribution and bancassurance relationships are prized.Earlier in May, HSBC had disclosed that a review of HSBC Life Singapore's insurance manufacturing business was ongoing.Bloomberg first reported on the news in the middle of June.[[nid:712561]]

Phase 2B of the registration exercise for children entering Primary 1 in 2027, which closed on Tuesday (July 21), will see 31 out of 33 oversubscribed schools conduct balloting.According to the latest vacancies and balloting status posted on the Ministry of Education's (MOE) website, Nanyang Primary School in Bukit Timah was most subscribed, with 52 pupils applying for 20 spots.The four other most subscribed schools are: 

A green Lamborghini was seen ablaze along East Coast Parkway (ECP) on Thursday afternoon (July 23), according to a Facebook post on SGRV Front Man the same day.In the post, two photographs of the burning vehicle can be seen, showing the rear of the vehicle in flames as the fire spreads to the front of the car.A separate video uploaded to Instagram by user Jeremysee.official showed dashcam footage of the vehicle burning as a driver goes past.Many users identified the vehicle as a Lamborghini Gallardo, also noting the green decals emblazoned on the side of the luxury car.In particular, users highlighted the cost of the vehicle, with many indicating how expensive it could be.While a comment described the incident as «serious», another user sarcastically quipped that it caught fire because it was a «cheap» car.According to SgCarMart, a used Lamborghini Gallardo goes for anywhere between $160,000 and $320,000. On Reddit, a separate post by user GlowQueen140 shared that the fire was «pretty large» when they drove by.

A total of 14 people have been arrested by Ministry of Manpower (MOM) enforcement officers for alleged employment-related offences.The ministry said in a news release on Thursday (July 23) that the enforcement operation was conducted across multiple locations on Tuesday.Among the 14 arrested are nine foreign workers, four company directors and one key appointment holder from an employment agency.According to MOM, they are suspected to have made false declarations, collected employment-related kickbacks, and carried out employment agency activities without a valid licence.Its ongoing investigations revealed that the four directors allegedly brought in migrant workers through inflated foreign worker quotas.They are also believed to have made fraudulent Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions to 139 locals who are not under their companies' employment.These «phantom workers» were allegedly recruited to inflate the companies' foreign worker quotas. The number of work permit holders an employer can hire is limited by a quota known as the dependency ratio ceiling (DRC).

The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) and Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) have successfully completed their eighth annual search and rescue exercise (Sarex), Singapore's Ministry of Defence (Mindef) announced on Thursday (July 23).Held from July 17 to 23 at Kuantan Air Base in Malaysia, Sarex saw the RSAF's H225M helicopters and the RMAF's EC725 helicopters co-operate with each other alongside ground crew and medical teams.Mindef said that the exercise involves participants working together, responding to an aerial mishap scenario off Pulau Tioman, Malaysia.This year, a new component was introduced where search and rescue medical teams from both RSAF ad RMAF were trained regarding the end-to-end care for simulated casualties, from in-flight treatment to patients transfers.Speaking at the closing ceremony at the air base on Thursday, RSAF's head of air operations, Brigadier-General (BG) Phua Jia Kai said that the exercise is a testament of the «close and enduring relationship» between the two countries.

A former teacher's habit of making advances on his female students, including getting one of them to sit on his lap and call him «daddy», was exposed when two of his charges alerted the school principal.The 41-year-old man, who was married at the time of his offences, was on July 23 sentenced to two years' jail after he was found guilty by Deputy Principal District Judge Ong Chin Rhu of three counts of performing an indecent act with a child, and one count of sexual grooming.Details about the offender and the school cannot be disclosed owing to a gag order to protect the student's identity.The man, who became a fully trained teacher in 2014, taught design and technology (D&T) classes at the school.Deputy Public Prosecutors Darren Sim and Ariel Tan told the court in earlier proceedings that he got to know one of the students in 2022 when she was between 13 and 14 years old.They initially met at the school's D&T studio for discussions over the subject, but he also helped her with mathematics, even though he did not teach the subject.

A physical education (PE) teacher at a secondary school who romantically pursued one of his students admitted on July 23 that he committed sexual offences against her when she was between 14 and 15 years old.The 45-year-old man pleaded guilty in the High Court to three counts of sexual penetration of a minor.Two incidents took place in a room at a hotel in Bugis in 2022, while the third incident took place in school in 2023.Another 12 charges will be considered when he is sentenced on Sept 16.The man cannot be named due to a gag order to protect identity of the victim, who is now 18 years old.When asked if he admitted to the statement of facts that was read out in court by the prosecution, he took an extended pause and heaved a sigh before replying that he admitted to the statement.At the time of the offences, he had 18 years' experience as a teacher. He taught the victim in 2022, and they followed each other on Instagram.He started chatting with her on the platform about books and writing, which she was passionate about.

Singapore relies on the sea for much of its need, including energy, food and trade, and hence it is a «fundamental national priority» for the city state to keep its maritime approaches open and secure, said Coordinating Minister for National Security K. Shanmugam.«It is a matter of survival,» he added, while speaking at the launch of the second Victory-class multi-role combat vessel (MRCV) named Valour at ST Engineering Marine's Benoi shipyard on Thursday (July 23).Turning to the ongoing situation in the Middle East, Shanmugam, who is also Minister for Home Affairs and will assume the additional role of Senior Minister on July 27, pointed out that the conflict's impact has resulted in rising energy costs worldwide.He noted that Singapore has not been spared, with electricity tariffs and petrol prices having gone up, resulting in impact on businesses and households.

A 54-year-old woman lost more than $410,000 worth of gold bars after falling victim to a scam and handing them over to a man posing as a plain-clothes police officer.The Malaysian man, identified as Turah Raju Subramaniam, 39, pleading guilty on Tuesday (July 21) and was sentenced to three years and two months' jail, Shin Min Daily News reported.According to court documents, she was contacted by someone claiming to be from a bank's anti-fraud department, who told her she was linked to a fraudulent $5,400 transaction.She was then transferred to another scammer posing as a senior investigator from the Ministry of Law, who falsely claimed she was under investigation for money laundering. The scammer sent her fake documents stating that she was wanted by the authorities and that her assets would be frozen.The woman was then instructed to transfer $1 million into her credit card account before purchasing gold bars.Following the scammers' instructions, she went to Mustafa Centre and bought 1,600 pieces of 24K gold bars worth more than $412,000.

What was meant to be a five-minute journey turned into a trip to the Accident and Emergency (A&E) department for the husband of content creator Sarah Cheng-De Winne.In a social media post, Cheng-De Winne recounted how her husband, Mark De Winne, was flung from his kick scooter and landed several metres away on «hard concrete».«On impact, he couldn't move his limbs or body for more than a minute,» she wrote. Cheng-De Winne said the incident took place earlier this week, when her husband was on his way home after dropping their son off at preschool. The 24-second video shows clips from the past few days, including De Winne being taken to hospital in an ambulance and his subsequent stay there. According to Cheng-De Winne, doctors initially ruled out a brain injury, cervical issue and fractures through scans and X-rays. However, De Winne continued to experience severe pain in his left forearm and fingers despite suffering the worst abrasions on his right arm, which likely bore the brunt of the fall. «He can't close his left hand, grip or carry anything,» she wrote.

A man in Singapore was fined $2,000 on July 10 after he made false declarations when applying for his wife's visa.Tan Kim Lam, 65, was arrested along with his wife, Lin Qiaoming, by Immigrations and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers on May 8 following an investigation into the offence.He is the first person to be prosecuted under section 57(1)(ka) of the Immigration Act 1959, which came into effect on Dec 31, 2024.Tan first met Lin, now 49, in 2002 through mutual friends in Singapore. Lin was a social visitor at the time.Lin, a Chinese national, then left Singapore illegally to avoid detection as she had failed to regularise her stay after her social visit pass had expired, ICA said.After returning to China, Tan and Lin still kept in touch.Lin purportedly entered Singapore multiple times between 2009 and 2015 under an assumed identity to avoid being identified for her previous offences.Despite lacking proficiency in English, Tan acted as her sponsor for her visa applications under the assumed identity.

LTA has caught 16 drivers providing illegal cross-border ride-hailing services, following regular tip-offs from the National Private Hire Vehicles Association and the National Taxi Association, the authority said in a Facebook post on July 21.The latest enforcement actions were carried out at Singapore's land checkpoints and in the downtown area, LTA added. All 16 vehicles were impounded. Drivers caught providing illegal ride-hailing services may be fined up to $3,000 and/or jailed for up to six months. Their vehicles may also be seized upon conviction. The LTA also reminded travellers to book only licensed cross-border ride-hailing service on Grab or have a Singapore-registered cross-border taxis. These services can pick passengers up from anywhere in Singapore and drop them off in Johor Bahru, Iskandar Puteri, Forest City, Kulai and Senai.Members of the public can also report illegal ride-hailing activities via LTA's website.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan on Wednesday (July 22) highlighted Singapore's expanded support for Palestinian officials through scholarships and training programmes, alongside more than US$19 million (S$24.5 million) in humanitarian aid provided to Gaza.Speaking at the 5th Conference on Cooperation among East Asian Countries for Palestinian Development (CEAPAD V) in Manila, Dr Balakrishnan reaffirmed Singapore's commitment to supporting the Palestinian people in their journey towards eventual statehood.The conference, initiated by Japan in 2013, is a platform for regional countries to discuss capacity-building assistance for the Palestinians. In his intervention, Dr Balakrishnan noted that more than 800 Palestinian Authority officials have participated in customised courses and study visits since the commencement of Singapore's enhanced technical assistance package in 2013.Singapore has also awarded 15 postgraduate scholarships to Palestinian Authority officials to date.