Friday sermons at mosques in Singapore have been temporarily shortened amid hotter weather and parts of the city state experiencing the haze, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) announced on Friday (Aug 21).With the change, the first sermon — typically around six to seven pages — will, for now, be under four pages.The change, which started on Friday, is in place until further notice.Explaining its decision, MUIS, citing the Prophet's teachings, said that individual hardship and the needs of the congregation can be taken into consideration.It noted that difficult weather can be a valid consideration too.«May this help make it a little easier for everyone to gather, worship and remain comfortable during these challenging weather conditions,» MUIS said in a social media post.Muslims can also access the Friday sermons on MUIS' prayer sermons page.As of 3pm on Friday, Singapore's 24-hour Pollutant Standard Index (PSI) remains in the moderate range. [[nid:742959]]

A 27-year-old man who was among 11 individuals arrested during an islandwide anti-loanshark raid on Aug 12 was charged on Thursday (Aug 20) for allegedly trafficking etomidate vaporiser pods.Felix Chan Zhi Hao was arrested at his Marsiling rental unit, where police officers uncovered more than 300 vaporisers and related components during a search of his unit.The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) said in a news release on Friday that they were alerted to the find and took over a total of 56 vaporisers, 247 vaporiser pods and a vaporiser battery.An instant urine test administered on Chan also returned positive for etomidate. He later admitted to vaping the substance the night before his arrest.Laboratory tests subsequently also confirmed that the seized pods contained etomidate.Preliminary investigations revealed that some of the vaporisers and pods seized were for Chan's personal consumption, with the majority allegedly intended for supply.The case has been adjourned to Oct 1. HSA's investigations are ongoing.

Basnayake Keith Spencer, 38, who stabbed a priest at St Joseph's Church in November 2024, has been sentenced to 4 years, 3 months' and nine strokes of the cane. He pleaded guilty to his crime on Friday (Aug 21).Apart from one charge of voluntarily causing hurt to Reverend Christopher Lee, Basnayake was handed three additional charges of being in possession of a weapon in March last year.The Singaporean of Sinhalese ethnicity was found with a 14.5cm penknife, a flip knife and a fishing gaff, a pole fitted with a sharp hook, at the church.Basnayake allegedly approached Father Lee, then 57, at the Upper Bukit Timah Road church shortly before 6.30pm on Nov 9.

Singapore's consumer watchdog has warned members of the public of phishing emails impersonating its officers.The Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE) said in a Facebook post on Friday (Aug 21) that such emails could be phishing attempts designed to obtain recipients' personal information.It added that recipients of such emails may be asked to click on a link, provide personal information, or take other actions. A closer look at the sender's email address may reveal telltale signs of fraud.In one example shared by CASE, the sender's name appeared as «CASE Investigation», but the email was not sent from «case.org.sg» — the association's official email domain.The consumer watchdog also advised members of the public to always take a moment to check before taking action.«When in doubt, stop, check and verify,» it said.Members of the public can call CASE's helpline at 6277-5100 to verify if an email is genuine. They may also contact the 24/7 ScamShield helpline at 1799.[[nid:743103]]editor@asiaone.com 

An ITE student sprang into action to help three people escape after a fire broke out in a Buangkok HDB flat early Thursday morning (Aug 20).The student, who lives in the unit next door, also responded with a fire extinguisher to help put out the fire, which occurred at Block 979B Buangkok Crescent.In a Facebook post on Thursday, Member of Parliament for Aljunied GRC Victor Lye said the student led three people out of the affected flat and responded with a fire extinguisher before firefighters arrived.The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) told AsiaOne that it was alerted to the fire at about 12.25am that day.The blaze involved the contents of a bedroom in a unit on the second floor and was extinguished by SCDF firefighters using a water jet.About 60 persons were evacuated as a safety precaution during firefighting operations.One person was taken to Sengkang General Hospital.Lye said the person, an elderly resident, suffered cuts to their feet and has since been discharged.

SINGAPORE — An elderly scam victim’s $500,000 claim against UOB has been thrown out by the High Court after the court found that she had deliberately concealed evidence that was unfavourable to her.Assistant Registrar (AR) Ramu Miyapan said the woman’s conduct amounted to an abuse of the court process, as she had presented a version of events that was materially different from what she had stated in a police report.The court struck out the claim even though the assistant registrar acknowledged that the claimant was an elderly woman who did not speak English and had already lost a significant amount of money in what appeared to be a scam.In grounds of decision released on Aug 18, AR Ramu said the case was not about whether the woman’s underlying claim against UOB had merit, but about her conduct in the court proceedings.The claimant, Lao Iok Sim, also known as Liu Yuchan, opened a UOB savings account at the bank’s People’s Park Complex branch on June 9, 2022, and applied for personal internet banking that same day.

A 51-year-old woman was taken to hospital after allegedly falling from a height at an HDB block on Wednesday (Aug 19) morning.Responding to queries from AsiaOne, the police and Singapore Civil Defence Force said they received a call for assistance at Block 43 Holland Drive at 7.45am. The woman was conveyed unconscious to National University Hospital and apprehended under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act 2008.Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, a witness at the scene, Zhang Jingbin (transliteration), said he heard that the woman would sometimes shout at her neighbour without reason.Zhang believed that the woman had fallen from the a fourth-floor unit as the window was open at the time of the incident.Footage supplied by Zhang showed how the rescue was carried out.

National carrier Singapore Airlines' low-cost subsidiary arm Scoot on Thursday (Aug 20) announced the launch of three times weekly flights to Guiyang in south-west China from Oct 26.Guiyang is the capital city of Guizhou province and is known for its rich ethnic minority cultures, captivating landscape of abundant green spaces and mountains, as well as a pleasant climate.The new route, to be operated by the Airbus 320neo aircraft, will strengthen its China network and offer travellers an additional gateway option ahead of the year-end holiday season, Scoot said.Prices for one-way economy class tickets will start from $158 inclusive of taxes.Bookings for the new flights are available via its website, mobile application from Aug 20, and will also be progressively made available through other channels, according to Scoot.Following the commencement of services, Scoot will operate 81 weekly flights to 16 cities in mainland China. Its network will also increase to 86 destinations across 18 countries and territories across the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Europe.

The police are appealing for information on the whereabouts of a 14-year-old teenage girl, Jasmine Tay Xin Yi.In a statement on Friday (Aug 21) morning, the police said she was last seen in the vicinity of Block 183B Boon Lay Avenue at about 12.30pm on Wednesday.She was wearing a black shirt and shorts.The said address is part of Boon Lay Grove, a HDB Build-to-Order (BTO) project near Boon Lay Shopping Centre. Those with information are urged to contact 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 

A police report has been filed after a group of boys were filmed entering a lift shaft at an Woodlands HDB block.In a TikTok video posted on Tuesday (Aug 18), the boys can be seen entering the roof of a lift cabin which appears to be undergoing maintenance.As the lift moves up, one boy can be heard instructing his friend to open the lift doors before lift moves downwards.The boy can also be heard telling another boy beside him, «Don't worry, don't worry.»As the lift moves down, they can be seen exiting the lift, with two other boys helping to open the doors.In another video posted on Aug 16, two boys can be seen at the lift lobby, with one of then standing on a stool while the other pulling the lift doors open.A boy is also seen gesturing for others to join him as he steps onto the top of the lift cabin before climbing back out and closing the lift doors.

A search and capture operation is ongoing at Pandan Reservoir after a crocodile was sighted at about 3pm on Thursday (Aug 20).In a joint statement on Thursday night, national water agency PUB said it has alerted the National Parks Board (NParks) and signage is being installed around the reservoir to alert members of the public to advise them to exercise caution.Meanwhile, the Singapore Rowing Association and Singapore Canoe Federation, which conduct water activities in the reservoir, have been informed to suspend all activities.PUB said that the based on a photograph it was provided with, the crocodile sighted is believed to be an estuarine crocodile (crocodylus porosus).This specie of crocodile is known to feed and rest in brackish and freshwater areas and are usually found in the water or on mudflats.

A total of 15 bus services will be affected by road works in the city centre from Aug 23 to 25, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced on Thursday (Aug 20).During the road works at night, bus services will skip the bus stops there, LTA said.The eight affected roads are: Bayfront Avenue, Beach Road, Central Boulevard, Marina Boulevard, Raffles Avenue, Raffles Boulevard, Temasek Avenue and Temasek Boulevard. Of these roads, bus stops at Raffles Avenue and Temasek Avenue will see the most number of bus services affected.The bus stops at Raffles Avenue are: The Esplanade (bus stop 02061), and after the Singapore Flyer (bus stop 02101).At Temasek Avenue, the affected bus stops are: opposite The Ritz-Carlton (bus stop 02171), and after Promenade MRT station's Exit C (bus stop 02161).The bus services affected are: 56, 70M, 111, 133 and 196 operated by SBS Transit; 502, 960, 960e and 961M operated by SMRT; 36 and 518 operated by Go-Ahead Singapore; and, 77, 97, 106 and 857 operated by Tower Transit.These road works will affect bus services from 10pm on Sunday to the last bus timing.

Justice Tay Yong Kwang and Justice Steven Chong Horng Siong will be stepping down as Justices of the Court of Appeal in September after decades of service.Their last days of service — on September 2 and September 22 respectively — were announced by the Singapore Courts in a statement on Thursday (Aug 20).Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, on behalf of the judiciary, expressed his his gratitude to the two retiring justices, noting that they have made «immense contributions» to the administration of justice in Singapore.'An exception character'Justice Tay's judicial career has spanned more than four decades.He started his judicial career with the Supreme Court in 1981, and became an assistant registrar and then a deputy registrar.The 69-year-old later served as a district judge at the Subordinate Courts, now known as the State Courts, for six years from 1991.In January 2003, Justice Tay was appointed judicial commissioner and later a High Court judge. He became a Justice of the Court of Appeal in August 2016.

A woman is suing the National Parks Board (NParks) over an alleged wild boar attack at a Bukit Panjang bus stop that made headlines in 2023.According to court documents cited by CNA, Durga Devi Subramaniam filed a lawsuit against NParks on April 29 and is seeking S$39,827.10 in medical expenses, transport costs and loss of earnings after the attack on May 1, 2023.The case is one of two negligence lawsuits currently being faced by NParks, with a separate claim involving two people who allegedly tripped over a temporary cable cover at the Singapore Botanic Gardens.Woman alleges wild boar tossed her three timesDurga said she was attacked by a wild boar at around 11.50pm at a bus stop along Bangkit Road on May 1, 2023, according to court documents cited by CNA.She alleged in the document that the animal bit her and «caught and tossed» her three times, leaving her with injuries on her right calf, pointer finger, right middle finger, right palm and buttocks.

SINGAPORE — An assistant store manager at a jewellery shop stole 24 pieces of gold jewellery worth over $216,000 from his workplace, replacing six of them with copies from online platform Taobao.Darren Wai Mun Jun, 31, who was then working for CHJ Singapore Jewel in Northpoint Drive, near Yishun Central 1, replaced the remaining 18 pieces with stock items from the store’s inventory.After that, he pawned all 24 pieces but only got more than $131,000 in cash for them. He used the money to gamble and to settle his debts.On Aug 20, he was sentenced to two years, four months and two weeks’ jail after pleading guilty to two counts of theft and one count of dealing with the benefits of his criminal conduct.The authorities have seized 18 pieces of the stolen jewellery from pawnshops, and he has made no restitution.Deputy Public Prosecutor Teng Yin Hang told the court that Wai started working for CHJ in September 2025.Two months later, he hatched a plan to replace the jewellery from the store with copies from Taobao.The DPP said Wai bought many pieces of jewellery from the online platform.

Tuas Power has won the right to build, own and operate a new turbine, which will raise Singapore's electricity generation capacity by December 2031.The upcoming hydrogen-ready combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) will have a 670MW capacity and can power about 1.2 million 4-room HDB flats for a year.This will add to the more than 20 CCGTs in the power system today, currently powered by natural gas, said the Energy Market Authority (EMA) on Thursday (Aug 20).By 2031, there will be five hydrogen-compatible CCGTs, or under development, including the one to be built by Tuas Power.CCGTs are currently the most efficient thermal generation units available to meet Singapore's demand. In such units, natural gas and air combust in a gas-fired power plant, causing its turbine to rotate and generate electricity. Steam, a by-product, rotates a second turbine to generate more electricity in CCGTs.The EMA announcement follows an earlier request in April for energy companies to build up to three new hydrogen-compatible power plants in 2031 and 2032 to help meet Singapore's electricity needs.

Stay in the know with a recap of our top stories today.1. Causeway Link buses from Newton, Queen Street to go cashless from Aug 20, all services from Oct 1Travellers catching a Causeway Link bus to Malaysia from Newton or Queen Street will have to make sure they have a cashless payment method ready from Thursday (Aug 20)... » READ MORE2. 'It's my Liberation Day': Dr Ng Eng Hen on retirement, family and life after politics

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is trialling a humanoid robot named Olly at Little India MRT station on the Downtown Line from Aug 31 to Sep 11.According to LTA's Facebook post on Thursday (Aug 20), the friendly new face will be roaming around the MRT station on weekdays during the two weeks, between 10am and noon.It will guide commuters with wayfinding on the station platform and answer any questions about MRT lines and LTA.The humanoid robot will also be accompanied and supervised by LTA team at all times.It is being trialled to explore how AI-enabled technologies can support public transport operations and improve commuting experiences.LTA said that commuters might spot Olly before his trial begins as he is currently undergoing mapping and testing to familiarise himself with the station environment.This technology follows LTA's recent trial of facial recognition technology for fare payment earlier this month.

Bei-Ing Wanton Noodle hawker Yeo Song Khoon has returned to work a day earlier than expected. The 73-year-old had previously indicated that he would resume work on Aug 21, but was back at his Roxy Square stall on Thursday (Aug 20), where he was seen using a walking aid, limping noticeably and moving gingerly as he prepared for the lunchtime crowd.Speaking to AsiaOne, Yeo said he was still experiencing pain and taking medication for his injuries but was determined to continue working.“I have another doctor's appointment tomorrow and I don’t want to go back. The doctor said that if I were to take the medications, I don’t need to go for surgery,” said Yeo.Despite taking medication, Yeo said his back injury continues to affect his sleep, making it difficult for him to lie down at night. «I have to sit up in a position that is comfortable for me to sleep. It is painful but I just bear with it,» he said.How the incident unfoldedYeo was allegedly shoved to the ground by a male customer at the coffee shop in Roxy Square on Aug 15 after patting the customer's young daughter's head.

Travellers catching a Causeway Link bus to Malaysia from Newton or Queen Street will have to make sure they have a cashless payment method ready from Thursday (Aug 20).The bus operator announced on Monday that cash payments will no longer be accepted onboard its buses at the two Singapore locations.Passengers can tap Visa, Mastercard, ManjaLink or EZ-Link cards, or pay through the Lugo app.They can also purchase a single-journey e-ticket before boarding.For those who prefer to use cash, Causeway Link said tickets can be bought in advance.Passengers boarding at Queen Street can purchase tickets from a ManjaLink kiosk, while those at Newton can get a ManjaLink card from Causeway Link's ground staff.For travellers departing from Queen Street, SBS Transit bus service 170 also runs to Malaysia. Long-distance coaches are another option for those travelling from Newton and Queen Street.Completely cashless from Oct 1From Oct 1, cash payments will no longer be accepted onboard all of the operator's cross-border and feeder bus services.

Phishing scams involving the impersonation of courier companies via Apple iMessage have surged over the past two weeks, with losses now estimated to be around $2.2 million, up from the $1.2 million reported on Aug 5.Police said in an updated news release on Thursday (Aug 20) that their Cyber Command disrupted over 30,000 Apple iMessage accounts linked to the scam campaign since June this year.Spotting signs that you are a targetVictims typically receive messages via Apple iMessage from scammers impersonating recognised courier companies such as NinjaVan, J&T Express, and SPX Express.There were also instances of messages impersonating government agencies and financial institutions.The messages usually originate from numbers bearing country codes such as +212 (Morocco), +63 (The Philippines), +44 (United Kingdom), or from email addresses comprising random alphanumeric strings that appear to belong to couriers, the police said.

Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers «put to rest» an attempt to smuggle over 900 vapes and more than 9,000 pods into Singapore via Tuas Checkpoint on Aug 8.Pictures posted on ICA's Facebook on Thursday (Aug 20) show the items stowed in a rest area behind the driver's cabin, under what appears to be a quilt, cushion and pillow.According to ICA, the Malaysia-registered lorry was directed for enhanced checks where its search and examination officers found more than 900 vaporisers and over 9,000 pods hidden in the cabin resting area.A 46-year-old male Malaysian driver was arrested and the case referred to the Health Sciences Authority for further investigations.

Come Aug 26, the Singapore Arrival Card (SGAC) will have a refreshed interface.Announcing this in a social media post on Thursday (Aug 20), the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said SGAC will also come with enhanced features on its MyICA mobile app and website.The SGAC with electronic health declaration is a mandatory submission all travellers must make before arriving in Singapore.It replaced the paper embarkation/disembarkation card in March 2020.Only those who are transiting through Singapore, and residents such as Singapore citizens, permanent residents, long-term pass holders need not do so while travelling through Woodlands and Tuas Checkpoints.Among the enhancements is the availability of more language options.The new interface will offer 19 languages, adding seven more from the current 12: English, Malay, Bengali, German, French, Vietnamese, Hindi, Tamil, Thai, Japanese, Simplified Chinese and Korean.AsiaOne understands that the new language options are: Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, Dutch, Tagalog, Italian, Spanish and Russian.

SINGAPORE — Singapore's police force said on Thursday (Aug 20) it has received reports about Radiant World, one of the world's largest iron traders, and that it is looking into the matter.It declined to comment on what any complaints might be.A Radiant spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside UK business hours.Radiant has come under scrutiny from counterparties in recent weeks because of concerns about invoices provided to its banks.Commodities broker Marex Group has frozen all Radiant World's accounts following allegations that the iron ore trader used invalid invoices to raise funds, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter.[[nid:743055]]

A different perspective, through a child's eyes: «I think the uncle meant no harm.»That was the take on the recent Bei-Ing Wanton Noodle incident from a 10-year-old musician and busker, whose views have gone viral online.The incident sparked widespread discussion after a 73-year-old hawker was allegedly shoved to the ground by a customer at a coffee shop in Roxy Square last week.The shove occurred after the elderly man patted a customer's young daughter's head. The hawker has since reportedly suffered a fractured back following the incident.The incident even captured the attention of former president Halimah Yacob, who shared that she used to pat children on the head as a gesture of affection and called for stronger intergenerational bonds in Singapore.Busker Shayne Ko shared his views on the incident in an Instagram (IG) video posted on Wednesday (August 19).His video has been viewed nearly 300,000 times and liked over 15,500 times as of Thursday morning.