https://www.scmp.com/rss/323913/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com A part-time tutor used a spy camera implanted in a pen to record voyeuristic videos of fellow staff members and young students using the toilet at an education centre where he worked, doing this over three years or so. Investigations later uncovered about 80 voyeuristic images or video recordings taken at the centre, including 24 that showed children under the age of 14. Investigators also found out that the man had begun his voyeuristic pursuits as early as 2011, when he started by filming his... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3277584/singaporean-tutor-admits-using-spycam-film-his-sisters-students-toilets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3277584/singaporean-tutor-admits-using-spycam-film-his-sisters-students-toilets?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Sep 2024 04:15:08 +0000 Late last month, a 48-year-old tourist from India disappeared after a sinkhole suddenly opened up beneath her feet in Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur. She has not been seen since, despite an intensive search that has turned up nothing so far, save for a pair of slippers. Just days afterwards, a second sinkhole opened up in the Masjid India area around 50 metres from the first, reportedly triggered by a downpour. Rescue efforts have faced significant challenges due to poor visibility and the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3276942/could-singapore-suffer-sinkholes-kuala-lumpur?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3276942/could-singapore-suffer-sinkholes-kuala-lumpur?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Sep 2024 03:33:18 +0000 After a woman declined to have sex with him, a 23-year-old man in Singapore wielded a chopper at her to try to force her to comply. Earlier, he also threatened to share nude photos of the woman and pointed a Swiss army knife at her to get her to agree to his demands. On Wednesday, the man was sentenced to three years and 20 weeks’ jail and six strokes of the cane. He pleaded guilty to one charge of molesting someone while voluntarily attempting to cause hurt, two charges of criminal... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3276393/singapore-jails-man-who-threatened-woman-chopper-force-her-have-sex?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3276393/singapore-jails-man-who-threatened-woman-chopper-force-her-have-sex?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Aug 2024 08:30:17 +0000 Knowing that the man she cared for was intellectually disabled and would not be able to alert others of her wrongdoings, a domestic worker sexually assaulted him and tried to have sex with him. She committed her crimes while on a video call with her boyfriend, who later used videos of the incident to threaten the victim’s family. On Wednesday, the 29-year-old Indonesian was sentenced to eight years and 10 months’ jail for sexually assaulting a vulnerable person. Another four similar charges were... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3273661/indonesian-helper-jailed-sexually-assaulting-intellectually-disabled-man-singapore?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3273661/indonesian-helper-jailed-sexually-assaulting-intellectually-disabled-man-singapore?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Aug 2024 03:40:07 +0000 A Singapore Coroner’s Inquiry into the death of a 72-year-old woman who died a day after taking her first Pfizer Covid-19 vaccination shot has concluded that her death was the result of coronary heart failure and not the vaccine. The findings into Chan Yoke Chew’s death were presented by Coroner Christopher Goh on July 25. Chan’s family were understandably concerned that the administration of the vaccine somehow caused her death, but the medical reports indicated this was not the case, he... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3272465/singapore-woman-who-died-day-after-covid-jab-had-heart-failure-no-vaccine-link-coroner?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3272465/singapore-woman-who-died-day-after-covid-jab-had-heart-failure-no-vaccine-link-coroner?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Jul 2024 08:10:45 +0000 After losing her job as a preschool teacher in November last year, Morena Hui Yan-Yan, 27, went on a spending spree using credit cards she stole from friends and strangers. The Canadian-born Hong Kong citizen is also on the run from the authorities in Toronto, where she has been wanted for alleged fraud and other property offences since 2019. Hui’s Singapore crimes included using the stolen bank cards to pay for hotel stays, music festivals, air tickets, restaurant meals, and to book gym, spa,... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3271734/singapore-jails-canadian-born-hong-kong-woman-credit-card-theft-trying-flee-country?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3271734/singapore-jails-canadian-born-hong-kong-woman-credit-card-theft-trying-flee-country?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Jul 2024 10:30:47 +0000 A man took voyeuristic videos of at least 27 victims, including ex-colleagues, college friends and an ex-intern. Some victims, who were close friends, faced deep trauma over the man’s betrayal and are suffering mental health issues. The 33-year-old Malaysian, who was a software engineer at a bank in Singapore at the time of his arrest in April 2023, was sentenced to 20 months and four weeks’ jail for his offences on Thursday. He pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to four charges of voyeurism... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3270197/singapore-jails-malaysian-engineer-taking-upskirt-showering-videos-close-friends?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3270197/singapore-jails-malaysian-engineer-taking-upskirt-showering-videos-close-friends?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Jul 2024 07:15:13 +0000 A TikTok video of a woman warning others about an offer she received to take part in a sexually suggestive photo shoot involving 50 men has gone viral, with several users saying they’d received a similar proposition. Junior designer Lai Yi Jing, 21, posted a video on the platform last week saying that she had received an email from a man named “Gavin Choo”, who identified himself as a Singapore-based freelance photographer. The man said he was scouting for models for a paid project, described as... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3269559/singapore-tiktokker-exposes-sexual-photo-shoot-recruitment-scheme?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3269559/singapore-tiktokker-exposes-sexual-photo-shoot-recruitment-scheme?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Jul 2024 05:41:04 +0000 Despite the emergence of a scorecard grading politicians based on their traditional stances on family values, several politicians attended this year’s Pink Dot, with two Members of Parliament from the People’s Action Party saying that it is important to speak to all communities in Singapore. Speaking on the sidelines of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) rally Pink Dot, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth Eric Chua said: “I believe in staying... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3268609/singapore-pap-mps-opposition-politicians-attend-lgbtq-rally-despite-pro-family-scorecard?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3268609/singapore-pap-mps-opposition-politicians-attend-lgbtq-rally-despite-pro-family-scorecard?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Jun 2024 05:31:25 +0000 A 102-year-old woman who sells snacks, toiletries and other odds and ends at a Singapore shopping centre has gone viral on TikTok after her generosity was caught on camera. Sie Choo Yong, whose age was confirmed by family members, was filmed working in Lean Seng Lee Trading at the Beauty World Centre in Upper Bukit Timah. But it turns out making money isn’t top of her mind, because she kept giving away extra items and even refusing payment in the video TikTok user “dinahnahnah” posted on... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3266868/102-year-old-china-born-shopkeeper-becomes-unwitting-tiktok-sensation-singapore?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3266868/102-year-old-china-born-shopkeeper-becomes-unwitting-tiktok-sensation-singapore?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Jun 2024 05:03:31 +0000 On multiple occasions, a man chained his son, aged 10 or 11, to a rod in the toilet for up to five hours as punishment for telling lies or not doing his homework. On at least one occasion, he repeatedly hit the boy with a rubber hosepipe because the boy had angered him by texting his wife, from whom the man had divorced. On Friday, the 53-year-old Singaporean was sentenced to two years’ jail after pleading guilty to three counts of ill-treating a child under his care. A charge of criminal... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3266614/singapore-jails-father-who-chained-son-toilet-lying-not-doing-homework?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3266614/singapore-jails-father-who-chained-son-toilet-lying-not-doing-homework?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Jun 2024 08:30:15 +0000 The last of 10 people involved in Singapore’s S$3 billion (US$2.2 billion) money laundering investigation was on Monday handed a 17-month jail term – the harshest sentence meted out for the case. Su Jianfeng, 36, was convicted on Thursday last week after he pleaded guilty to one charge each of possessing almost S$551,000 in criminal proceeds from running an illegal remote gambling service and fraudulently using a forged property sale contract to explain the source of deposits into his bank... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3266028/singapore-hands-final-offender-money-laundering-scandal-longest-jail-sentence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3266028/singapore-hands-final-offender-money-laundering-scandal-longest-jail-sentence?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Jun 2024 07:45:08 +0000 Instead of stopping after hitting a pedestrian in Singapore, Safuan Tehda, 35, continued driving towards Tuas Checkpoint and crossed the border. The pedestrian later died in hospital. The law only caught up with Safuan more than six months later after he was arrested by Malaysian police and extradited to Singapore. Appearing in the State Courts via video link on Wednesday, Safuan was sentenced to 23 months’ jail and was disqualified from holding or obtaining all classes of driving licences for... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3265612/singapore-jails-truck-driver-who-left-malaysia-after-fatal-hit-and-run-accident?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3265612/singapore-jails-truck-driver-who-left-malaysia-after-fatal-hit-and-run-accident?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Jun 2024 08:18:21 +0000 To cover up his attempt to film a woman at his workplace toilet with a hidden mobile phone, a restaurant worker in Singapore broke into three staff lockers to retrieve the device – after it had been discovered. Mohamad Norhakim Mohd Ishkandar later lied to the police that he had set fire to the phone. The 26-year-old Malaysian pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one charge each of voyeurism and obstructing the course of justice. He was given seven months and four weeks’ jail. His sentence was... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3265590/singapore-jails-restaurant-worker-using-hidden-phone-film-woman-toilet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3265590/singapore-jails-restaurant-worker-using-hidden-phone-film-woman-toilet?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Jun 2024 06:50:07 +0000 A 41-year-old man was sentenced to six years and seven months’ jail and eight strokes of the cane on Wednesday (May 29) for the attempted rape and molestation of his stepdaughter, then aged 11 or 12. The man pleaded guilty to aggravated attempted rape of a person aged under 14, as well as outrage of modesty. Both the offender and his victim cannot be named due to a Singapore court order to protect the victim’s identity. The man’s sentence was backdated to his date of arrest on May 18 last... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3264637/singapore-jails-man-attempted-rape-brazen-molestation-stepdaughter-home?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3264637/singapore-jails-man-attempted-rape-brazen-molestation-stepdaughter-home?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 May 2024 02:07:01 +0000 Despite not having a ticket when he arrived in Singapore for American singer Bruno Mars’ concerts at the National Stadium last month, Karl Phillippe Njiomo Tengueu found another way to enter the venue. The 23-year-old from Cameroon forged a fake pass for Singapore Sports Hub workers, which gave him access to the stadium on April 3, the first night of Mars’ concerts. He was caught after he tried to watch the show a second time. For his actions, Tengueu was sentenced to 10 weeks’ jail on Friday... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3264100/singapore-jails-man-who-used-fake-staff-pass-watch-bruno-mars-concert-after-his-post-ruse?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3264100/singapore-jails-man-who-used-fake-staff-pass-watch-bruno-mars-concert-after-his-post-ruse?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 May 2024 11:32:49 +0000 The badminton coach of a secondary school team sent several female students sexual messages and later engaged in sexual acts with one of them when she was 15 years old. The married man, now aged 33, was sentenced to three years’ jail on Thursday after he pleaded guilty to two charges of engaging in sexual acts with a person under 16 years of age. Both the man and the teenager cannot be named under a court gag order to protect the victim’s identity. The court heard that the man had been hired by... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3263796/singapore-badminton-coach-who-sexually-groomed-15-year-old-girl-jailed-3-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3263796/singapore-badminton-coach-who-sexually-groomed-15-year-old-girl-jailed-3-years?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 May 2024 10:00:20 +0000 A Singapore man who was the first among four brothers to start sexually abusing their younger sister was on Tuesday sentenced to 18 years in jail and 24 strokes of the cane. Justice Mavis Chionh decided on a longer jail term than the 16 years proposed by the prosecution and defence, which she said was not commensurate with his crime. The man, now 22, is the second-oldest of the four brothers. The assailants cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim. He pleaded guilty to three charges... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3263667/singapore-jails-canes-man-who-was-first-4-brothers-sexually-abuse-sister-8?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3263667/singapore-jails-canes-man-who-was-first-4-brothers-sexually-abuse-sister-8?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 May 2024 10:27:51 +0000 How dirty would you get for a good cause? An Indonesian woman has gone to extreme lengths to protest the poor state of roads in her province in southern Sumatra. Ummu Hani, 35, took to social media in early May to share photos of herself sitting or lying down in mud-filled potholes on the roads in Merbau Mataram, a subdistrict of South Lampung in Sumatra. Dressed in a black headscarf and dress – and covered head to toe in mud – Ummu is seen smiling as she holds signs calling out the “derelict”... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3262732/indonesian-mother-who-fell-motorbike-sits-muddy-pothole-filled-roads-protest-official-inaction?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3262732/indonesian-mother-who-fell-motorbike-sits-muddy-pothole-filled-roads-protest-official-inaction?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 May 2024 04:10:12 +0000 A 37-year-old woman was charged in Singapore court on Thursday for her alleged involvement in the murder of a 56-year-old man. Li Ye, a Chinese national, was handed one charge of murder in the state courts for allegedly causing the death of Lim Lai Guan, 56. Charge sheets state that the incident occurred at about 1.38am (local time) on Wednesday morning at City Gate Residences along Beach Road. Li, who is in remand, appeared in court via video link on Thursday. She was not represented by a... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3261988/chinese-woman-charged-murder-man-singapore-condominium?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3261988/chinese-woman-charged-murder-man-singapore-condominium?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 May 2024 06:00:24 +0000 During an intimate video call with his wife, a man in Singapore took a topless screenshot of her without asking for her consent, then sent the image to the wife’s older brother, calling her “a prostitute”, among other insults. The 46-year-old Singaporean, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, had previously physically abused his wife, a court heard. The court heard that the husband had gone drinking with his friends on the evening of June 1 last year. Soon after reaching... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3261542/singapore-jails-man-sending-topless-photos-wife-her-brother?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3261542/singapore-jails-man-sending-topless-photos-wife-her-brother?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 May 2024 05:03:54 +0000 At just five years old, Abyan Imtiaz Irkiz has become the youngest Singaporean to reach Mount Everest base camp. Abyan achieved the feat with his father, Zikri Ali, 41, on Monday – two days earlier than they had planned. It took the pair eight days to reach the base camp, which sits at an altitude of 5.36km above sea level. It serves as a home base for mountaineers attempting to climb Mount Everest in Nepal. The father and son duo, who have been documenting their journey on an Instagram account... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3261331/5-year-old-becomes-youngest-singaporean-conquer-everest-base-camp-through-hard-work-and-faith?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3261331/5-year-old-becomes-youngest-singaporean-conquer-everest-base-camp-through-hard-work-and-faith?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 May 2024 08:21:11 +0000 A Singapore-born veterinary surgeon based in Adelaide, Australia has been sanctioned and fined A$5,000 (US$3,289) for engaging in a series of inappropriate acts involving animals, Australian news media reported. Marcus Tan Wei Sheng, who studied in Australia for six years before first working in veterinary practice in 2019, has not been banned from practising as a veterinary surgeon there but has to do so under strict conditions and supervision, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3261267/singapore-born-veterinary-surgeon-fined-and-sanctioned-sex-acts-animals-australia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3261267/singapore-born-veterinary-surgeon-fined-and-sanctioned-sex-acts-animals-australia?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 May 2024 02:35:41 +0000 A 45-year-old man linked to Singapore’s largest money laundering case was sentenced to 15 months’ jail on Tuesday. He is the fifth of 10 accused persons to be dealt with in relation to the case. Zhang Ruijin pleaded guilty on Tuesday to two counts of forgery-related offences and one of failing to satisfactorily account for property reasonably suspected to be benefits from criminal conduct. Another five similar charges were taken into consideration for his sentencing. Zhang, a Chinese national,... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3260919/singapore-jails-chinese-national-15-months-role-us22-billion-money-laundering-case?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3260919/singapore-jails-chinese-national-15-months-role-us22-billion-money-laundering-case?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Apr 2024 08:33:52 +0000 A 31-year-old man was sentenced to 20 days’ jail for neglecting 43 cats in a vacant flat in the largest animal cruelty prosecution in terms of pet numbers by Singapore’s National Parks Board (NParks) to date. Muhammad Danial Sukirman pleaded guilty on Wednesday to 10 charges of causing unnecessary pain and suffering to an animal as a pet owner. Taken into consideration for sentencing were another 34 charges under the Animal and Birds Act relating to 33 other cats and one charge of failing to... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3260414/singapore-jails-man-leaving-43-cats-without-food-water-faeces-strewn-flat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3260414/singapore-jails-man-leaving-43-cats-without-food-water-faeces-strewn-flat?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Apr 2024 03:10:09 +0000 A married man, whose girlfriend died shortly after being assaulted by him, has been sentenced to 20 years’ jail in Singapore for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. M Krishnan was upset about his girlfriend’s relationships with other men when he punched and kicked her, the court heard. Mallika Begum Rahamansa Abdul Rahman was aged 40 when she died on January 17, 2019, the day Krishnan was arrested. Krishnan, 40, pleaded guilty in the High Court last week. His sentence was backdated to the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3260023/singapore-jails-married-man-who-beat-mistress-death-fit-jealousy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3260023/singapore-jails-married-man-who-beat-mistress-death-fit-jealousy?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Apr 2024 07:22:04 +0000 Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam on Friday criticised a commentary by British publication The Economist, which he said could not “resist sneering” at Singapore’s political leadership handover. The weekly newspaper’s commentary, published on Thursday, noted that Singapore has had “only” three leaders in its 59 years, and that the next prime minister Lawrence Wong “remains relatively unknown among Singaporeans”. “He was not the 4G’s [fourth generation leaders’] first choice,” said the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3259700/singapores-minister-k-shanmugam-rebuts-sneering-article-uks-economist-countrys-political-succession?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3259700/singapores-minister-k-shanmugam-rebuts-sneering-article-uks-economist-countrys-political-succession?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Apr 2024 13:18:21 +0000 Singapore e-commerce giant Shopee has risen to the top of official rankings for its security measures to tackle e-commerce scams for the first time, the city state’s Ministry of Home Affairs said on Wednesday, while Carousell and Facebook Marketplace remained at the lowest tier in the ratings. The ministry said Shopee had implemented all important safety features over the past year that were required for it to join three other platforms – Amazon, Lazada and Qoo10 – at the top rung of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3258478/singapore-says-shopee-safe-amazon-scams-carousell-facebook-marketplace-rank-worst?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3258478/singapore-says-shopee-safe-amazon-scams-carousell-facebook-marketplace-rank-worst?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Apr 2024 05:37:18 +0000 An intoxicated man refused to believe his resting wife was ill, threatened to cut her throat with a fruit peeler then assaulted her as she was receiving hospital treatment in Singapore. In a separate incident, the same man, a butcher, threatened a member of the public with a meat chopper at a Bedok coffee shop. The 58-year-old man was sentenced to 12 months’ jail after pleading guilty to one charge of carrying an offensive weapon in public and two other charges of criminal intimidation and... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3257795/singapore-jails-drunk-man-threatening-cut-sick-wifes-throat-fruit-peeler?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3257795/singapore-jails-drunk-man-threatening-cut-sick-wifes-throat-fruit-peeler?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Apr 2024 04:15:15 +0000 Countries that host international events and conferences are not, “as a rule”, expected to provide secured means of communication as foreign guests typically arrange their own means of transmitting sensitive information, Singapore’s Senior Minister of State for Defence Heng Chee How said on Tuesday. These protocols can include the use of encryption hardware or software, commercial secured lines or those provided by the embassy. He said the Ministry of Defence and Singapore Armed Forces officials... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3257548/singapore-minister-responds-german-military-call-leak-says-secure-lines-not-expected-rule?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3257548/singapore-minister-responds-german-military-call-leak-says-secure-lines-not-expected-rule?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Apr 2024 07:00:21 +0000 A man who cheated three people by selling them fake Taylor Swift concert tickets and later helped them gatecrash the concert was sentenced to three months’ jail. Yang Chenguang, a 29-year-old Chinese national, pleaded guilty on Thursday to one charge of cheating and one charge of criminal trespass. He entered Singapore on March 1 on a social visit pass and did not bring luggage, wearing the same set of clothing throughout his time here. Yang took part in a scheme to help three people tailgate a... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3257142/singapore-jails-chinese-national-3-months-selling-fake-taylor-swift-tickets-helping-trio-gatecrash?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3257142/singapore-jails-chinese-national-3-months-selling-fake-taylor-swift-tickets-helping-trio-gatecrash?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Mar 2024 23:00:14 +0000 A domestic helper who punched, slapped and bit her 101-year-old bedridden charge, then taped the woman’s mouth to suppress her screams of pain, has been sentenced in Singapore to 20 weeks’ jail. Aye Aye Aung, a 32-year-old Myanmar national, had been caring for the victim, who is on a feeding tube, for about three years. She pleaded guilty on Thursday to two charges of voluntarily causing hurt. On February 27, the 43-year-old granddaughter of the victim received a WhatsApp message from her aunt,... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3257120/singapore-jails-myanmar-helper-who-punched-bit-101-year-old-woman-no-reason-and-taped-her-mouth-stop?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3257120/singapore-jails-myanmar-helper-who-punched-bit-101-year-old-woman-no-reason-and-taped-her-mouth-stop?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Mar 2024 11:10:42 +0000 A 53-year-old man has been remanded at Singapore’s Institute of Mental Health after being charged with making false bomb threats against two politicians, including Taiwan’s legislative speaker. Loo Peng Seng, a Singaporean, was handed four charges of communicating false, harmful information on Tuesday. It came after the police said in a statement on Monday evening that they were alerted on March 4 to a case of an alleged bomb threat. “A member of the public reported that she came across a post... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3256890/singapore-man-accused-bomb-threats-against-taiwanese-legislative-speaker-1-other-politician?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3256890/singapore-man-accused-bomb-threats-against-taiwanese-legislative-speaker-1-other-politician?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Mar 2024 06:02:11 +0000 Singapore authorities have told the Israeli embassy to remove a post on its Facebook page that Minister for Law and Home Affairs K. Shanmugam called an “astonishing attempt to rewrite history”. The post was “insensitive”, “inappropriate” and “completely unacceptable” as it carried the risk of undermining safety, security and harmony in Singapore, he said. “I was very upset when I was told about it,” he told reporters on Monday. “And the Ministry of Home Affairs spoke with the Ministry of Foreign... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3256601/singapore-orders-israeli-embassy-remove-facebook-post-about-palestine-koran?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3256601/singapore-orders-israeli-embassy-remove-facebook-post-about-palestine-koran?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Mar 2024 07:03:14 +0000 Angry that his wife had told him to keep quiet after he spoke loudly on the phone as their baby slept, a man in Singapore held a kitchen knife to her throat and threatened to kill the child if she left home. The 24-year-old man was sentenced to three months’ jail after pleading guilty to criminal intimidation and voluntarily causing hurt. The name of the man and his wife cannot be published to protect the identity of the couple’s children. On May 14 last year, just over two months after the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3256556/singapore-man-threatens-slit-wifes-throat-kill-their-baby-gets-3-months-jail?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3256556/singapore-man-threatens-slit-wifes-throat-kill-their-baby-gets-3-months-jail?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Mar 2024 01:25:09 +0000 Following last September’s 100 Best Rated Breads in the World, Croatia-based food encyclopaedia TasteAtlas released a new ranking for the World’s Top 100 Sandwiches, which has once again stirred up commotion among Malaysian and Singaporean online users. The list, published on Monday, puts Singapore’s kaya toast at number 42 with a rating of 4.2 out of 5.0. The top place went to Vietnam’s banh mi with a rating of 4.6. This might be a source of pride for Singaporeans, but Malaysians were not so... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3255381/singapore-kaya-toast-among-worlds-100-best-sandwiches-malaysians-say-its-stolen-them?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3255381/singapore-kaya-toast-among-worlds-100-best-sandwiches-malaysians-say-its-stolen-them?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Mar 2024 10:00:35 +0000 A woman who cheated her boss at a real estate firm into giving her S$3.7 million (US$2.78 million) over almost a decade, including his life savings, was sentenced to 12 years’ jail on Wednesday. Lynne Charlotte James persistently lied to the victim that she had become bankrupt and posed as government officials in emails to back up her lies. After the 69-year-old man depleted his savings, he and his wife sold two of their condominium units as well as their personal possessions to raise funds for... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3255262/singapore-sentences-woman-12-years-jail-cheating-boss-giving-her-us278-million?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3255262/singapore-sentences-woman-12-years-jail-cheating-boss-giving-her-us278-million?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Mar 2024 12:20:49 +0000 Trying to recoup his gambling debts, a Chinese national visiting Singapore allegedly decided that he could stage his own kidnapping in the Republic to scare his relatives into paying around S$5,550 (US$4,200) as ransom. But instead of doing so, his relatives contacted Singapore’s authorities and did not accede to the ransom request. On Monday, Liu Changjian, 33, was handed one charge of attempted cheating. Pleading not guilty, he appeared in court via video-link while on remand. Singapore jails... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3254922/singapore-charges-chinese-tourist-who-staged-own-kidnapping-cheat-relatives-recoup-gambling-debts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3254922/singapore-charges-chinese-tourist-who-staged-own-kidnapping-cheat-relatives-recoup-gambling-debts?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Mar 2024 06:45:11 +0000 Swiftonomics has swept through Singapore after the US pop star performed six sold-out shows here, but for small businesses, the spoils are not equally shared. While many have thrived in Taylor Swift’s presence – among them hotels and retailers that sell clothing and accessories popular with Swifties, there were also some that felt a swifter fall in business, especially for those located around the National Stadium where the concert was held. The net economic benefit of Swift’s concerts in... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3254842/singapore-some-small-businesses-lament-muted-impact-swiftonomics-not-right-audience?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3254842/singapore-some-small-businesses-lament-muted-impact-swiftonomics-not-right-audience?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Mar 2024 07:47:45 +0000 Two men were charged on Wednesday with allegedly helping three people who had no tickets get into a Taylor Swift concert at the Singapore Sports Hub. The two men, 29-year-old Yang Chenguang and 45-year-old Li Xiao Wei, were each charged with abetting three persons to cheat the event organiser, Kallang Alive Sport Management. Both are from China. Court documents stated that the two men allegedly abetted three individuals, Shangguan Linmo, Hu Zhijun, and Yang Junhao, to gain unauthorised entry to... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3254454/2-chinese-men-charged-over-helping-trio-enter-singapores-taylor-swift-concert-without-tickets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3254454/2-chinese-men-charged-over-helping-trio-enter-singapores-taylor-swift-concert-without-tickets?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Mar 2024 01:56:32 +0000 Singapore police are investigating after receiving a report over posters that were put up in Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) toilets claiming that the university is using school fees to fund Israel in the war in Gaza. The top of the poster reads: “Applying to NTU? Your school fees is funding the genocide in Palestine.” The poster also details various ways NTU is allegedly funding Israel, such as its collaboration with French multinational company Thales, which has a joint research... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3254326/singapore-police-investigate-posters-campus-toilets-claiming-ntu-funding-israels-war-gaza?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3254326/singapore-police-investigate-posters-campus-toilets-claiming-ntu-funding-israels-war-gaza?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Mar 2024 03:50:09 +0000 Former Singapore transport minister S. Iswaran, 61, was granted permission to stay in Australia for an additional 16 days as he has fallen ill, said the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) on Monday. In response to media queries, AGC said Iswaran’s lawyers had applied to extend his stay until March 19 during an urgent mention at the State Courts. The mention took place at 5.30pm on Monday. The AGC did not provide details about Iswaran’s illness. TODAY has asked Iswaran’s legal team for further... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3254146/singapores-s-iswaran-who-faces-corruption-charges-allowed-stay-australia-16-more-days-after-falling?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3254146/singapores-s-iswaran-who-faces-corruption-charges-allowed-stay-australia-16-more-days-after-falling?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Mar 2024 14:00:12 +0000 Wanting some rest after a long day, a 24-year-old sales assistant in Singapore headed home – only to be disturbed by the sound of a “live game” on his roommate’s mobile phone. His solution? Stabbing the man with a kitchen knife. Wang Ye, who is from China, was sentenced to 12 months’ jail on Wednesday last week, after pleading guilty to voluntarily causing hurt using a weapon. Two similar charges were taken into consideration. Deputy Public Prosecutor Janessa Phua told the court that Wang and... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3254028/singapore-jails-chinese-man-who-stabbed-roommate-over-noisy-mobile-game?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3254028/singapore-jails-chinese-man-who-stabbed-roommate-over-noisy-mobile-game?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Mar 2024 02:03:19 +0000 While Singapore recognises Israel’s right to self-defence, its military response has gone “too far”, and the catastrophic situation in Gaza that has resulted from it demands “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire”, said Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan on Thursday. Speaking in parliament during a debate on his ministry’s spending, Balakrishnan added that Singapore would be donating a third tranche of aid to the Palestinian territory via Jordan. This aid follows two tranches of... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3253670/israeli-military-response-gone-too-far-singapore-donate-more-aid-gaza-foreign-minister-vivian?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3253670/israeli-military-response-gone-too-far-singapore-donate-more-aid-gaza-foreign-minister-vivian?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Feb 2024 09:08:10 +0000 Singapore’s total fertility rate continues to decline and is estimated to hit an all-time low of 0.97 for 2023. The rate has been on a downward trend since 2018, when it was 1.14. It continued to fall to 1.12 in 2021, followed by 1.04 in 2022. It has stayed below the replacement level of 2.1 for many years. This is the level of fertility at which a population exactly replaces itself from one generation to the next. Indranee Rajah, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, said in parliament on... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3253626/singapores-total-fertility-rate-set-plunge-historic-low-child-raising-costs-rise-more-stay-single?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3253626/singapores-total-fertility-rate-set-plunge-historic-low-child-raising-costs-rise-more-stay-single?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Feb 2024 06:03:55 +0000 While drunk, a man decided to use a belt to strangle his 81-year-old mother before attempting to sexually assault her in her public rental flat in Singapore. Ignoring her pleas to stop, the man then punched his mother in the face, and then continued his attempted assault. He stopped only after he became tired while his mother struggled to escape his grip. On another occasion, while also drunk, the man hit his wife after she declined to have sex with him. He had punched her so hard that she fell... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3253450/drunk-man-singapore-pleads-guilty-punching-wife-refusing-sex?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3253450/drunk-man-singapore-pleads-guilty-punching-wife-refusing-sex?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Feb 2024 03:55:13 +0000 Singaporean businessman Philip Chan Man Ping has been designated as a politically significant person under the Foreign Interference Countermeasures Act, the city state’s Ministry of Home Affairs said. In a statement on Monday, the ministry confirmed the 59-year-old’s designation, adding that the Registrar of Foreign and Political Disclosures had “considered the representations Chan had submitted in response to the notice of intended designation” previously issued to him on February 2. Chan is... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3253230/singapore-designates-ex-hong-kong-businessman-philip-chan-politically-significant-under-foreign?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3253230/singapore-designates-ex-hong-kong-businessman-philip-chan-politically-significant-under-foreign?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Feb 2024 08:28:24 +0000 Feeling frustrated at her employer’s son for being slow in getting ready for school, a domestic worker dragged, slapped and kicked the eight-year-old who was a special-needs child. Sakinah, a 25-year-old Indonesian, was sentenced to three weeks’ jail on Wednesday after pleading guilty to voluntarily causing hurt to the boy. The boy’s name and location of the offence cannot be published under a Singapore court order protecting his identity. Sakinah had been a domestic worker in the boy’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3252793/singapore-jails-domestic-helper-slapping-kicking-special-needs-boy-who-was-slowly-getting-ready?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3252793/singapore-jails-domestic-helper-slapping-kicking-special-needs-boy-who-was-slowly-getting-ready?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Feb 2024 04:40:23 +0000 Six Singapore government agencies will be refunding about S$7.5 million (US$5.5 million) in Goods and Services Tax (GST) that had been wrongly charged on certain regulatory fees. They are the Council for Estate Agencies, Housing and Development Board (HDB), the Land Transport Authority (LTA), the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) under the Ministry of Social and Family Development, the Singapore Food Agency and the Urban Redevelopment Authority. An internal review by the Ministry of Finance... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3251947/singapore-wrongly-charged-taxpayers-us55-million-gst-last-5-years-will-now-have-refund-fees?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3251947/singapore-wrongly-charged-taxpayers-us55-million-gst-last-5-years-will-now-have-refund-fees?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Feb 2024 09:00:22 +0000 Over a few days, an employer spied on his foreign domestic helper while she was bathing, using a closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera he had secretly installed. His offences came to light after the spy camera fell while the 28-year-old Filipino worker was in the toilet. On Tuesday, the man, a 63-year-old Singaporean, was sentenced to 12 weeks’ jail after pleading guilty to three counts of voyeurism. One related charge was taken into consideration during the sentencing. The names of all... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3251198/singaporean-jailed-installing-cctv-camera-home-toilet-record-helper-showering?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3251198/singaporean-jailed-installing-cctv-camera-home-toilet-record-helper-showering?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Feb 2024 02:45:12 +0000