SINGAPORE, Sept 23 — All foreign-registered vehicles entering Singapore via land checkpoints must have a valid Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) beginning October 6, 2026, said the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA).

It said travellers entering Singapore by car through Woodlands or Tuas Checkpoint must ensure their vehicle has a valid VEP before submitting their SG Arrival Card (SGAC).

ICA said the system will verify the VEP status of the foreign-registered car when the SGAC is submitted and will alert travellers including passengers if it does not have a valid VEP.

“If the vehicle does not have a valid VEP, travellers will not be able to complete their SGAC submission.

“They will be prompted to apply for a VEP before travelling to Singapore,” it said in a Facebook post yesterday.

According to ICA, a valid VEP also ensures that the vehicle has the requisite motor insurance coverage in Singapore, as valid motor insurance for the entire duration of the vehicle’s stay is a requirement for obtaining the VEP.

“The advance VEP verification therefore helps travellers ascertain before their journey that the vehicle they are travelling in is adequately insured in the event of a road accident.

“A VEP cannot be issued without motor insurance,” it added. — Bernama

SINGAPORE, Sept 23 — The upgraded Asean Trade in Goods Agreement (Atiga) is expected to take effect by end-2026, ahead of the original mid-2027, said Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong.

Gan, who is also Trade and Industry Minister, said the decision was made at the 58th Asean Economic Ministers’ (AEM) Meeting and Related Meetings in Manila, the Philippines, where member countries agreed to ratify it earlier.

“We are now planning to bring it forward to this year. We are working hard with our fellow Asean members to race to the end and to cross the line before the end of the year.

“We are optimistic that we will be able to do so,” he told the media in Singapore yesterday.

Gan said the agreement will significantly facilitate intra-Asean trade by simplifying and clarifying rules for businesses to operate within Asean.

“At the same time, it will also make Asean a very important and very attractive destination for investment, because investors know that in Asean they will be able to trade within Asean freely,” he said.

Singapore’s Trade and Industry Ministry said in a statement that the decision demonstrates Asean’s resolve to keep markets open and respond collectively to external shocks and supply chain disruptions.

Early implementation will help businesses reap its benefits sooner through smoother trade flows, improved customs procedures and reduced friction when trading across the region, it said.

The ministry said that, among others, AEM also laid the groundwork to review the Asean Trade in Services Agreement and moved towards implementing the recently concluded Asean Digital Economy Framework Agreement.

“Ministers advanced preparatory work towards a potential Asean Green Economy Framework Agreement to support the development of an interoperable Asean carbon market,” it said. — Bernama

SINGAPORE, Sept 22 —Singapore has joined international leaders in calling for stronger safeguards for frontier artificial intelligence (AI) models amid their rapid development and the serious risks they could pose if not properly managed.

Its Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said AI holds tremendous promise, but it must remain under human control and oversight.

“We want to harness AI effectively to benefit Singapore and our people. But as AI becomes more powerful, we must also guard against the risks.

“And because these risks cross borders, effective safeguards will require international cooperation,” he said in his Facebook post today.

Wong said Singapore supported the joint statement on AI safety initiated by Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, together with leaders from around the world.

“We must continue to find practical ways to build common ground and bring more countries along,” he added.

A total of 22 world leaders jointly endorsed the joint statement issued on Monday, which welcomed the recently launched initiatives aimed at managing risks associated with frontier technologies.

The joint statement called companies to develop transparent safety protocols, including mandatory pre-deployment testing and independent evaluations with qualified evaluators granted sufficient access to assess risks. 

It also urged governments and regional organisations to further develop and coordinate common standards, strengthen transparency - including shared reporting of serious safety incidents - and ensure that countries across all regions have access to scientific capacity, expertise and trusted evaluation.

The statement further called on United Nation (UN) member states to build on existing international mechanisms and explore creating an international institution, able to set standards, enable verification, and convene states when capability thresholds are crossed. — Bernama

SINGAPORE, Sept 22 — Singapore’s companies, households and financial institutions have sufficient buffers to withstand shocks but should remain vigilant amid heightened geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said today.

The central bank’s assessment, reported by CNA, was contained in its annual financial stability review, which examines risks to Singapore’s financial system and its resilience to potential shocks.

Singapore’s financial stress index rose sharply when conflict broke out in the Middle East but the increase was brief before the index returned to historically low levels, although it has since edged higher alongside rising global yields.

MAS said shifts in global risk sentiment could trigger renewed financial stress, with heightened Middle East tensions, further trade restrictions and a correction in the artificial intelligence investment cycle among the potential sources of volatility.

The rapid expansion of AI infrastructure has become an increasingly important driver of global capital demand, while higher interest rates, semiconductor and electricity costs and greater reliance on market financing have raised the returns required for AI investments.

Although AI investment continues to support economic activity and corporate earnings, MAS said current equity valuations depend on strong and sustained revenue growth and “rather sizeable” eventual profits from investments in data centres and advanced semiconductors.

A significant shortfall in earnings or expected returns could prompt a broader reassessment of AI-related valuations, with losses potentially spreading across public equities, corporate bonds and private credit markets, the central bank said.

MAS also warned that renewed conflict in the Middle East and persistent trade policy uncertainty could add to inflation risks, while higher tariffs and further restrictions could increase production costs and geopolitical tensions could disrupt energy markets, shipping routes and critical technology supply chains.

“The increased frequency and duration of supply shocks could make inflation more volatile and unanchor expectations. Monetary policy may consequently have to be more restrictive for longer, tightening financial conditions across sovereign and corporate debt markets,” said MAS.

Domestic financial conditions have remained generally accommodative, with borrowing costs easing over the past year, the three-month Singapore Overnight Rate Average (SORA) continuing to fall and Singapore investment-grade credit spreads tightening, while the Straits Times Index rose 33 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter.

“However, rising global interest rates could exert some tightening pressures in the period ahead,” MAS said, adding that most firms and households have strong balance sheets and are expected to remain resilient under stress.

MAS stress tests showed that banks and insurers are well-capitalised and able to withstand severe macro-financial shocks, while investment funds have sufficient liquidity to meet redemption requests, although highly leveraged firms and households with limited savings buffers could face greater strain.

“In view of the uncertain macroeconomic outlook, firms and households should manage their finances prudently and maintain adequate liquidity buffers against potential stress.”

The central bank said banks should maintain sound risk management and healthy buffers, while insurers should ensure they have adequate capital to withstand potential losses and investment funds maintain sufficient liquidity.

SINGAPORE, Sept 22 — Singapore’s Online Safety Commission (OSC) received more than 500 reports of online harm in its first two months of operations, with the youngest victim being a seven-year-old subjected to doxxing.

The figures, covering June 29 to August 31, were reported by CNA, which cited the commission and Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo.

Of the eligible reports received during the period, 44 per cent involved doxxing while online harassment accounted for 38 per cent.

Intimate image abuse made up 8 per cent of cases, followed by online stalking at 7 per cent and image-based child abuse involving victims below 16 at 3 per cent.

More than 90 per cent of eligible reports were resolved, although the commission did not disclose how many of the more than 500 reports received were eligible.

An eligible report must be made by a victim or on their behalf and involve online harmful activity covered by the Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) Act.

An OSC spokesperson said a case is considered resolved when the harmful content is removed, whether through flags to online platforms, directions, communication with those responsible or restrictions on a perpetrator’s account.

Cases in which platforms, websites or communicators fail to comply with the commissioner’s directions by the specified deadline are treated as unresolved and investigated as non-compliance cases.

“However, this does not mean that the victim is left hanging. OSC will consider other options in our toolkit, such as to issue an access blocking order to block a website that failed to comply with a direction issued by the commissioner.”

The commission was established under the Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) Act 2025, which was passed by Parliament in November last year to give victims a faster avenue to seek relief.

Victims can report harmful content when platforms fail to remove it within 24 hours, after which the Commissioner of Online Safety can direct platforms to remove the material, restrict perpetrators’ accounts or allow victims to publish replies.

Speaking on the gov.sg podcast Let’s Table It, posted on Tuesday, Teo said placing the commission on a statutory footing helped give it credibility and authority.

“That’s why we passed the law, so they can refer back to the law and say that the law says that there are these categories of harms. This is how these categories of harms are defined,” she said.

Commissioner of Online Safety Francis Ng said the commission had introduced a statutory mechanism for victims to report harmful content and seek its removal, while Teo said the early figures showed there was a need for stronger support for victims.

“Very often when we speak to these victims, their immediate need is clear and straightforward. They really want the harmful content to be removed as soon as possible,” she said.

“The platforms remain the first port of call. They have a responsibility to act on reports of harmful content. But when the victims need more support, today they have the Online Safety Commission to turn to.”

Young people accounted for 17 per cent of eligible reports, with the youngest victim a seven-year-old subjected to doxxing, while online harassment made up 51 per cent of cases involving victims below 18.

In one case, a victim was subjected to sustained online sexual harassment from 2022, including unsolicited explicit material and AI-generated deepfake nude images and videos, with more than 1,000 posts published across multiple platforms.

The commission issued a direction and the harmful content was removed, while in another case involving prolonged harassment and stalking, a victim’s stalker created multiple social media accounts, approached the victim’s friends and impersonated the victim and people in their network.

The latter case also involved death threats and a parallel police investigation, with the commission flagging the accounts for removal and referring the victim to SHECARES for counselling and guidance.

In a separate doxxing case, the commission ordered a forum to disable an original post and a comment after a victim was targeted with negative allegations and personal information, including the names of the victim and her partner.

The OSC currently handles five categories of online harm — online harassment, including sexual harassment, doxxing, online stalking, intimate image abuse and image-based child abuse — and will gradually expand its remit to all 13 categories covered by the law.

The commission said it follows a “no wrong door” policy for reports outside its current scope and will refer such cases to other agencies or third-party partners that may be able to assist victims.

SINGAPORE, Sept 22 — A woman who was wrongfully dismissed after becoming pregnant and planning to take maternity leave has been awarded S$19,800 (RM63,300) by the Employment Claims Tribunal.

The award, equivalent to six months of her gross pay, was reported by CNA, which cited the tribunal’s judgment.

The woman, identified only as C, had received a positive performance assessment before giving birth but was not given a salary increment and was later told she did not fit into her new boss’ vision for the team.

She joined the unnamed company as an executive in April 2021 and told the new director, identified as EC, in April 2023 that she was pregnant and due to give birth in October.

Her performance was rated “excellent” in July that year by another director, while EC also agreed that her performance was good.

C was hospitalised in September 2023 at 36 weeks pregnant due to pregnancy complications and high blood pressure, and remained on hospitalisation leave until she gave birth.

The tribunal found that EC had already formed the intention to end her employment after her maternity leave when the director spoke to another senior colleague about C in September.

During a phone call on Oct 4, EC told C that she did not fit into his new vision for the team and said it would be “cleaner to terminate after the maternity”, while indicating that she could potentially return under new expectations.

C gave birth on October 11 and began her maternity leave, which was due to end on January 25, 2024, but resigned in December and later claimed she had been forced to leave while on maternity leave.

Tribunal magistrate Lee Li Choon found there was no pressing reason for the company to make the call about C’s plans and rejected its explanation that it was made in good faith to clarify whether she intended to take sabbatical leave.

Lee found that the actual reason for the intended dismissal was C’s impending absence due to hospitalisation and maternity leave, both of which were employment rights and entitlements.

She said dismissing C for exercising those rights amounted to wrongful dismissal and discrimination based on her pregnancy and maternity leave.

Lee awarded C the maximum three months of gross pay, amounting to S$9,900, plus another S$9,900 for the harm caused and aggravating factors, saying she had been informed of the impending termination in a “degrading and deeply insensitive” manner.

SINGAPORE, Sept 22 — At least S$4.8 million (RM15.3 million) has been lost in Singapore since January to scams involving fraudsters impersonating Harvey Norman employees, police said.

The police said on Monday that 119 cases had been reported this year, with victims targeted through unsolicited calls, according to CNA.

The scammers typically claim that the victims had purchased a television or had a delivery pending, before telling those who denied making the purchase that their personal information had been misused.

Victims are then connected to another scammer posing as an officer from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, who alleges that they are linked to offences such as money laundering.

Under the guise of assisting with an investigation, the victims are instructed to move their money into a so-called safe account.

Some are instead told to withdraw cash, purchase gold bars or hand over valuables including jewellery and luxury watches to people claiming to be involved in the investigation.

The scammers assure victims that their money and belongings will be returned once the purported investigation is completed.

Victims later realise they have been deceived after making multiple transfers without receiving the promised refunds.

Police reminded the public that Singapore government officials will never instruct anyone to transfer or surrender cash or valuables, provide banking login credentials, install mobile applications from unverified app stores, or transfer calls to police or other government agencies.

Members of the public can use the ScamShield app to help guard against scam calls and SMSes, while those unsure about a suspected scam can contact the 24-hour ScamShield helpline at 1799.

SINGAPORE, Sept 21 — Retrenchments in Singapore climbed to their highest level since the height of the Covid‑19 pandemic, with layoffs rising sharply in the second quarter of 2026 amid continued business restructuring.

SCMP reported that according to the Manpower Ministry’s latest labour market report, 4,620 workers were retrenched between April and June, up from 3,830 in the first quarter. This marks the highest quarterly figure since late 2020, when the pandemic triggered widespread job cuts.

The ministry attributed the rise primarily to business reorganisation and restructuring, rather than cost‑cutting or company closures.

While the report did not detail sector‑specific breakdowns, the ministry noted that firms are adjusting workforce needs as they digitalise, automate and streamline operations — trends that have persisted since the pandemic years.

The uptick in layoffs comes despite broader economic stabilisation, suggesting that restructuring pressures remain strong even as Singapore’s economy continues to expand.

Despite the spike in retrenchments, Singapore’s labour market has generally remained stable, with unemployment rates staying low and job vacancies still outnumbering jobseekers.

Economists say the latest figures reflect a transitional phase as companies recalibrate roles and skill requirements, particularly in sectors undergoing technological shifts.

SINGAPORE, Sept 21 — Bus commuters who blast music, put their feet on seats or behave disruptively can be fined up to S$500 (RM1,597) from September 23, under new rules introduced to make public transport rides safer and more pleasant.

According to The Straits Times, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said the updated regulations bring bus penalties in line with those already applied on trains. More severe offences — such as obstructing operations at bus interchanges, causing danger to others, or soiling buses and interchange facilities — will carry fines of up to S$5,000.

LTA stressed that public transport is a shared space and that “every commuter has a part to play” in maintaining a gracious commuting environment.

To enforce the new rules, selected staff from the four public bus operators — including ticket inspectors and interchange personnel — will be authorised to issue administrative notifications to passengers suspected of committing offences. LTA will then follow up with investigations.

Bus drivers, however, will not be allowed to issue such notices so their core duty of safely operating the bus is not compromised. They may advise passengers to stop disruptive behaviour and ask them to alight if they refuse. If a commuter remains uncooperative, drivers can call the operations control centre or the police.

The move follows comments made in Parliament in 2025, when then Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Transport Baey Yam Keng noted that the Government had fewer powers to manage commuter behaviour on buses compared with trains. Parliament later passed new regulations to close that gap, with Senior Minister of State for Transport Murali Pillai saying the rules would take reference from the Rapid Transit Systems Act.

LTA said the priority is to minimise inconvenience to other commuters while ensuring bus services are not disrupted.

SINGAPORE, Sept 21 — A family of three who died in a Hougang flat fire last year had repeatedly refused help from the Housing Board to address severe hoarding in their unit, a coroner’s inquiry heard.

The Straits Times reported State Coroner Adam Nakhoda delivered his findings on September 20, concluding that the blaze — which killed a 48‑year‑old man, his 51‑year‑old wife and their 18‑year‑old daughter — was most likely caused by an electrical fault made deadlier by the “extensive clutter” packed into the rental flat.

The inquiry heard that HDB officers had visited the family several times between 2017 and 2023 after neighbours complained about foul smells, pests and items spilling into common corridors. Despite repeated offers of assistance — including decluttering help and referrals to social services — the family declined, insisting they could manage the situation on their own.

Officers described the flat as being filled floor‑to‑ceiling with newspapers, cardboard, clothing and miscellaneous items, leaving only narrow paths to move around. The clutter made inspections difficult and posed a fire hazard.

On the morning of the fire, the Singapore Civil Defence Force found the unit heavily smoke‑logged, with flames consuming the living room area. Investigators determined that the fire likely started from a faulty power strip or overloaded socket.

The hoarded materials — mostly paper and fabric — acted as fuel, accelerating the spread of the blaze and producing thick smoke that quickly overwhelmed the occupants. All three were found unconscious and later pronounced dead in hospital.

Coroner Nakhoda said the tragedy underscored the dangers of hoarding, especially when residents refuse help. He noted that the family’s reluctance left agencies with limited options, as they had not met the threshold for compulsory intervention.

He urged residents to cooperate with authorities when safety concerns are raised, stressing that cluttered homes can turn minor electrical faults into fatal fires.

SINGAPORE, Sept 21 — A rare Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama pumpkin bag seized in Singapore’s S$3 billion (RM9.6 billionaire) money laundering probe has emerged as the star of the first luxury‑goods auction, closing at an astonishing S$87,000 after a frenzied 30‑minute bidding war.

According to The Straits Times, the limited‑edition yellow monogram leather piece — part of a collaboration with the celebrated Japanese artist, who died earlier this year at 97 — drew 42 last‑minute bids, sending its final price soaring far beyond Hotlotz’s initial estimate of S$12,000 to S$16,000.

It was the most sought‑after item in the first tranche of 337 seized handbags and accessories, all of which were sold on Sunday night, bringing in more than S$1.1 million.

Other items also smashed expectations. Chrome Hearts necklaces, bracelets and rings attracted 30 bids or more, with a diamond double‑cross pendant closing at S$11,000 — roughly 10 times its estimate.

Chanel bags, which formed the largest portion of the catalogue, drew intense interest. A rhinestone‑studded goatskin mini flap bag sold for S$15,000, while a classic caviar leather flap fetched S$13,000, well above typical resale prices.

Luxury reseller Elaine Fung said the publicity surrounding the case likely fuelled more aggressive bidding, especially among buyers unfamiliar with current market prices.

A second Hotlotz auction featuring 286 pieces of fine jewellery remains open until Sept 27, with both auctions expected to bring in S$2.9 million to S$3.9 million.

The goods are part of a massive liquidation exercise involving assets forfeited from a sprawling transnational money‑laundering network. Proceeds will be channelled into the government’s consolidated fund.

The feverish demand for handbags and jewellery stood in stark contrast to the lacklustre auction of seized luxury properties on Sept 17, where not a single unit found a buyer.

SINGAPORE, Sept 21 — A 90‑year‑old Singapore man has failed in his bid to obtain spousal maintenance from his 89‑year‑old ex‑wife, after the Family Justice Courts found that both parties were already adequately provided for following the division of their matrimonial assets.

According to CNA, in a judgment published on Sept 16, the court noted that the former couple — married for more than 64 years — will each walk away with significant sums from their matrimonial pool, largely derived from their S$5.8 million (RM18.5 million) home. The wife will receive about S$3.5 million, while the husband will obtain S$2.4 million.

Justice Dedar Singh Gill said the husband’s share of more than S$2 million was “more than sufficient to meet the needs of a 90‑year‑old retiree for the remainder of his life”, adding that both parties have no earning capacity and rely solely on pensions or payouts.

The court found that the wife had contributed the greater share to the marriage, both financially and through caregiving. She financed their homes, paid household bills, covered property taxes up to 2024, and supported the family on her pension after retiring in 1992 — giving her husband half of her monthly payout.

She also produced detailed evidence of her role as the primary caregiver, managing the household, supervising domestic workers, and overseeing the children’s schooling and activities. The husband, the judge noted, offered only general assertions of involvement without specifics.

The court ultimately assessed indirect contributions at 70:30 in her favour, leading to an overall division ratio of 60:40.

The man had sought maintenance as an incapacitated former husband, citing medical issues, minimal income, and the financial burden of living alone in the matrimonial home. He also asked for a lump sum amounting to 5–10 per cent of his share of the assets if maintenance was denied.

Justice Gill rejected both requests, ruling that ordering maintenance from an elderly retiree living on a pension would not be “just or necessary”.

The judge ordered that property tax for 2025 and 2026 be borne equally, noting that while the husband should not shoulder the entire bill, his argument for the wife to pay it fully was untenable.

The couple must sell their home on the open market within six months, with joint conduct of the sale. Each party will bear their own legal costs.

SINGAPORE, Sept 21 — Singapore police are warning the public about a re-emerging phishing scam that uses the Singapore Police Force (SPF) logo to frighten victims into handing over their bank details.

According to a police statement issued on September 20, scammers have been circulating pop-up alerts that mimic official SPF branding. These alerts falsely claim that a victim’s computer or mobile device has been locked due to repeated access of websites containing illegal content. Victims are then told they must pay “outstanding fines” within hours to unlock their devices.

The pop-ups often include:

• A countdown timer to heighten panic
• Threats of permanent device lockouts
• Warnings of prosecution for non-payment
• A payment form requesting bank card details

Victims typically discover they have been scammed only after unauthorised foreign currency charges appear on their bank accounts — often exceeding the supposed fines.

Authorities stressed that the SPF does not remotely lock personal devices and does not issue fines through pop-up messages. They urged the public to remain vigilant and verify suspicious alerts by calling the ScamShield Helpline at 1799.

The warning comes amid a broader rise in impersonation scams, where criminals use official logos, government branding, or spoofed websites to deceive victims. Police continue to advise the public to avoid clicking on unexpected pop-ups, refrain from entering banking details on unfamiliar sites, and report suspicious activity promptly.

SINGAPORE, Sept 21 — A steady nerve is crucial when keeping watch over hundreds of data centres worldwide, facilities essential to the frictionless online banking, messaging and AI services that society relies on.

Analysts sit surrounded by digital maps and dashboards at the Singapore command centre of US firm Digital Realty, a major global operator of the warehouse-like sites filled with whirring servers.

The goal is not simply to react when something breaks, but to detect warning signs, such as a sudden rise in temperature, early enough to prevent disruption.

Daniel Naing, 37, and his colleagues handle thousands of system alerts flagging signs of trouble each week.

“If I panic, my team members will panic. So even though inside I may be nervous, I cannot show it,” he told AFP.

The command centre and its two sister hubs, in Europe and the United States, provide round-the-clock oversight of more than 300 data centres across six continents.

Digital Realty rents its server space to around 6,000 companies big and small, with power disruptions and equipment failure the most common issues faced.

There are also detailed protocols for earthquakes and typhoons, and an approaching storm thousands of kilometres away is enough to put the team on standby.

Booming demand for data centres is a political hot potato in many places, as tech companies race to develop artificial intelligence tools that require massive amounts of computing power.

But without them “nothing works” in our high-tech world, said Serene Nah, managing director and head of Asia Pacific at Digital Realty.

Data centres are essential infrastructure — a matter “almost like national security”, she said.

“We need to be up running all the time.”

Nah said, however, that “our business is very misunderstood” and has little support from the public, who believe data centres emit “a lot of carbon or heat” or “use up a lot of water”.

“Yet everyone’s scrolling their phones every day,” and for each swipe “the data needs to go somewhere”.

The company is prioritising renewable energy such as solar panels and closed-loop server cooling systems that continuously recycle water, Nah said.

The data centre is prioritising renewable energy such as solar panels and closed-loop server cooling systems that continuously recycle water. — AFP pic

False positives

The vulnerabilities of the sector were highlighted this year, when data centres run by Amazon’s cloud arm were struck during the Middle East war.

Data centres operate 24 hours a day, so Naing and his colleagues take the 7am to 7pm shift in Singapore before handing over to Europe.

Engineers must attend to an alert within minutes. The teams liaise with those on the ground and call on a global network of experts to help, while keeping clients updated.

Digital Realty is one of the biggest providers of data centre server space along with rivals like Equinix, also a US company.

Meanwhile tech giants from Microsoft to Alibaba are racing to build their own data centres to train and run AI models — part of a global buildout costing trillions of dollars.

Digital Realty’s Global Command Centre in Singapore is housed inside one of three data centres that the company runs in the city-state.

Most areas of the data centre, whose roof is lined with solar panels, are off-limits for security reasons.

But AFP was shown a room where rows of black server cabinets formed long, narrow corridors, with bundles of yellow cables running overhead and the computer servers’ high-velocity fans emitting a soft hum.

This photo taken on September 2, 2026 shows rows of server rack cabinets at the Digital Realty data centre in Singapore. — AFP pic

AI is accelerating the growth and complexity of data centres, but for operations at the command centre, humans remain indispensable, said Terence Tang, head of the Asia Pacific global command centre.

“We still need human intervention to really look at whether or not those are genuine outages, genuine alerts and alarms, because sometimes AI or automation can give you false positives,” Tang told AFP. — AFP

SINGAPORE, Sept 20 — A 22-year-old man was arrested at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) yesterday evening for alleged voyeurism.

According to The Straits Times, police said they received a call for assistance at 66 Nanyang Crescent at about 7.30pm before arresting the man.

Police investigations are reportedly ongoing.

Separately, Reddit users on the r/NTU forum reported seeing university security personnel and police officers at the North Hill gym area that evening, though these accounts have not been independently verified.

The Straits Times said it had contacted NTU for further information.

SINGAPORE, Sept 20 — Wellness centres offering treatments such as saunas, cold plunges and red light therapy are drawing a growing number of younger Singaporeans seeking to improve their long-term health and recovery.

According to The Straits Times, at least eight wellness centres and clinics focused on longevity have opened in Singapore over the past four years, with some operators reporting increasing interest among younger customers.

House Longevity brand manager Lukas Kok said most of the centre’s roughly 50 clients are in their early 30s, with affordability and the non-invasive nature of its treatments among the attractions.

“We do not want people to just follow the trends and end up causing more harm than good,” Kok was quoted as saying.

Occupational therapy assistant Garrison Lim, 24, told the newspaper he has been attending sessions involving saunas, cold plunges, magnesium salt baths and red light therapy about once every two weeks since June, spending around S$400 (RM1,633) so far.

Content creator Michelle Layanto, 28, said she had been interested in nutrition and wellness since she was 20, with the aim of prolonging her health span.

“I believe that everything you do for your body compounds. The small, consistent choices you make in your 20s and 30s — nutrition, movement, recovery — show up decades later in your skin, joints, bones and energy,” she said.

Nanyang Technological University associate professor Chen Lou, who studies consumer psychology, said younger people were increasingly exposed to the idea of “healthy longevity”, particularly through social media.

“These treatments are quite experiential so they can become not only a wellness activity, but also part of someone’s lifestyle and social identity that is shareable on social media,” Lou said.

SINGAPORE, Sept 19 — Haze conditions worsened across parts of South-east Asia since Friday, with Singapore’s air quality slipping back into the unhealthy range as smoke from forest fires in Indonesia drifted towards the city-state.

The 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) in Singapore’s central region reached 107 at 3pm today, up from 102 at 1pm, according to the National Environment Agency (NEA), The Straits Times reported today.

The west region recorded the next-highest reading at 95, while the south registered 79, with both remaining in the moderate range.

The deterioration was more pronounced in the central region, where the hourly PM2.5 reading – a measure of fine particulate matter – jumped from 67 at 11am to 117 at noon before easing to 93 at 3pm.

The NEA advises the public to use hourly PM2.5 readings when deciding on immediate outdoor activities and the 24-hour PSI to plan activities for the day ahead.

The latest deterioration follows an earlier spell of unhealthy air in Singapore this month, with the central-region PSI reaching 101 on September 4.

In its latest advisory, the NEA said smoke plumes from forest fires in Kalimantan had been observed drifting towards Singapore, while some plumes were also seen over southern Sumatra.

Dry conditions are expected to continue over parts of southern Sumatra and Kalimantan, while prevailing winds from the east-south-east or south-east could carry more smoke towards Singapore.

The NEA had forecast the 24-hour PSI to remain in the high-moderate to low-unhealthy range.

The return of unhealthy air this month marks the first such occurrence in Singapore since October 2023, with authorities previously warning of an increased risk of haze between June and October amid warmer and drier conditions associated with El Nino and the Indian Ocean Dipole.

SINGAPORE, Sept 19 — Two men have been arrested in Singapore after Italian authorities investigating an international online child abuse network passed information to local police.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) confirmed to The Straits Times today that the men, aged 27 and 33, were arrested for possessing or gaining access to child abuse material.

The SPF said it received information from Italian authorities about an operation targeting a Telegram group that shared such material, and investigations are ongoing.

The police did not disclose the men’s nationalities or whether they are known to each other.

The arrests follow an Italian investigation that led to 17 arrests on September 17, after an undercover officer infiltrated the Telegram network by gaining the trust of its administrators, AFP reported.

The operation, dubbed Fly Trap, uncovered a Telegram community known as New Saga with more than 1,000 users worldwide, while Italian authorities identified 996 accounts linked to 98 countries and shared the information with foreign authorities.

The network was run by four Italians and a Swiss national, with the investigation beginning in 2024 following a tip-off from US Homeland Security Investigations.

In Singapore, anyone convicted of possessing or gaining access to child abuse material while knowing or having reason to believe it is such material can be jailed for up to five years, fined or caned.

SINGAPORE, Sept 19 — An Indonesian businessman is assisting Singapore police with investigations after allegedly using 34 counterfeit S$10,000 notes worth S$340,000 (RM1.09 million) at Resorts World Sentosa’s casino over three visits in June.

The businessman, identified only as Steven, allegedly exchanged the notes for casino chips after they were accepted as genuine, The Straits Times reported today.

His lawyer Yosia Ginting told the newspaper on September 17 that Steven had no idea the notes were counterfeit and was himself a victim of fraud.

“Steven is a victim of fraud and is not part of a counterfeit money ring. We have reported to the South Tangerang police about this case,” Yosia was quoted as saying.

The lawyer said Steven received the Singapore currency as payment for a shophouse he was selling in South Tangerang, a satellite town near Jakarta.

He had been introduced to a man named Anthony through a friend, and Anthony initially gave him one S$10,000 note (RM32,000), on June 8, claiming he wanted to exchange the old banknote.

The friend, identified only as Rangga, allegedly reassured Steven that the note had been checked at an OCBC branch in Indonesia and found to be genuine.

Steven then took the note to Singapore, where a money changer declined to accept it because of its high denomination.

At Resorts World Sentosa, however, a VIP host allegedly suggested that he change the note at the casino, where it was subsequently accepted and exchanged for chips.

Anthony later handed Steven another 33 S$10,000 notes, telling him the money was an inheritance from his parents and that he wanted the notes changed into smaller denominations in Singapore.

The businessman then returned to Singapore and allegedly deposited 27 of the notes at the casino, while six remained in Indonesia.

The Straits Times reported that Steven was later stopped by casino security and police on June 26 after returning to Singapore with his wife, children and the seller’s daughter to settle a separate property payment.

The six remaining notes had been used as part-payment for a house in Pamulang, Banten, but the seller’s daughter had difficulty exchanging them with a money changer in Jakarta.

When Steven was stopped at the casino, he was told that the serial numbers on some of the six notes matched those of notes he had exchanged during his earlier visits, according to his lawyer.

Steven was subsequently questioned at the Police Cantonment Complex and told he was being investigated for bringing a large amount of cash into Singapore without declaring it, circulating counterfeit currency and using counterfeit currency.

His passport and mobile phone were surrendered to the authorities, while his lawyer said Steven had been told he would have to remain in Singapore for three to six months while investigations were completed.

South Tangerang police chief Superintendent Boy Jumalolo told The Straits Times that Indonesian and Singapore police had discussed the case during a September 14 meeting via Zoom.

“At that meeting, we asked the SPF to issue a letter stating that the 34 notes from 1973 in the S$10,000 denomination, which have been seized, are counterfeit.

“To date, Indonesian investigators have only received a copy of the seizure receipt, which describes them as ‘believed to be non genuine’,” he said.

He added that Indonesian investigators were now summoning witnesses.

A Singapore Police Force spokesman confirmed that a report had been lodged and said investigations were ongoing.

The S$10,000 note was first issued in 1973 but was discontinued in 2014, while the Monetary Authority of Singapore stopped issuing S$1,000 notes in 2021.

MAS said the discontinuation of the two high-denomination notes was a pre-emptive measure to reduce money-laundering and terrorism-financing risks associated with large-value banknotes.

Singapore law provides for a jail term of up to 20 years for those convicted of using forged or counterfeit banknotes.

The case is not the first involving counterfeit S$10,000 notes, with an Indonesian man sentenced to seven months’ jail in February after trying to deposit a counterfeit note into his uncle’s bank account.

In 2025, another Indonesian man was charged after allegedly trying to deposit a counterfeit S$10,000 note at a DBS branch in Singapore.

SINGAPORE, Sept 19 — A healthcare company’s chief financial officer nearly transferred S$120,000 (RM384,000) to scammers after they impersonated the firm’s chairman and managing director on Microsoft Teams.

The attempted fraud came amid a sharp rise in business e-mail compromise scams in Singapore, with losses reaching S$57.3 million (RM183.4 million) in the first half of 2026, up from S$19.5 million (RM62.4 million) a year earlier.

“Everything happened so quickly. The scammers acted with a sense of urgency that made my colleague anxious to get the job done,” Jane (not her real name), one of the company’s directors, was quoted as saying by The Straits Times in a report published today.

“The instruction was just to ‘do it now’,” the 72-year-old added, stressing that the urgency made it difficult for her colleague to stop and question the instructions.

According to the newspaper’s report, the incident began when the company’s chief financial officer was asked by people posing as the chairman and managing director to submit the firm’s financial statements through a Teams group chat.

The scammers then instructed her to transfer S$120,000 from the company’s bank account, but she only realised she had been tricked after speaking to the real managing director, who denied giving the instruction.

The fraudsters sounded legitimate and communicated well in English, making the request appear more convincing.

“When instructions appear to come from the two most prominent figures in the company, how do you reject that request?” Jane asked.

The company’s payment protocol ultimately prevented the loss, as payment slips had to be physically signed before any bank transfer could be authorised.

“If not for that, the S$120,000 would have been lost. And the scammers’ next request may be for a larger amount,” she said.

The company then instructed UOB to monitor large transactions and ensure transfers were made only after proper authorisation.

UOB branch manager Carlene Lam said she contacted the bank’s Risk and Anti-Fraud teams after Jane reported the incident to assess what had happened and put safeguards in place.

“I assured Jane that safeguards were in place and contacted my colleagues in the Risk and Anti-Fraud teams to assess the incident and take the necessary precautions to protect Jane’s organisation, including verifying all payment instructions,” she was quoted as saying.

UOB head of group compliance Daniel Ng said such scams had evolved beyond conventional e-mails, with criminals increasingly using messaging, voice and video platforms to impersonate trusted executives.

“Scammers increasingly exploit messaging, voice and video channels – including AI-enabled impersonation – to pose as trusted executives and trick employees into making fraudulent fund transfers,” he told The Straits Times.

“As these scams become more sophisticated, businesses should treat unexpected or urgent payment instructions with caution and independently verify them through established channels before acting,” he added.

Singapore police recorded 262 business e-mail compromise cases in the first six months of 2026, up from 156 in the same period last year, making it the third-largest scam category by amount lost.

The scams typically involve criminals impersonating suppliers, vendors, clients or senior executives to trick employees into transferring company funds to fraudulent bank accounts.

Adrian Hia, managing director for Asia Pacific at cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, said the scams were particularly effective because they exploited familiar communication channels and workplace hierarchies.

He said employees could be less likely to question requests from senior executives, particularly when they were framed as urgent.

“Essentially, the authority associated with a high-ranking executive can work to reduce a recipient’s level of scrutiny and encourage immediate action rather than verification. Business e-mail compromise attacks succeed not only because of technical deception, but because they leverage authority and social workplace expectations,” he was quoted as saying.

Hia said warning signs included unexpected payment requests, particularly those outside established procedures.

Requests to transfer money to new or unfamiliar bank accounts, or where payment details differ from previous transactions, should also be independently verified.

Other red flags include instructions to bypass standard approval procedures or keep the request confidential, as well as unusual sign-in links, unsolicited attachments and unexpected login prompts when opening files.

SINGAPORE, Sept 18 — Alphabet’s autonomous‑driving company Waymo said today it will launch a fully driverless ride‑hailing service in Singapore in 2028, marking its first entry into South‑east Asia.

CNA reported that Waymo is partnering the Ministry of Transport (MOT) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to introduce an all‑electric commercial service that commuters can book through its app.

Waymo co‑CEO Tekedra Mawakana said Singapore has built “one of the safest, most efficient and most forward‑thinking transportation ecosystems in the world”.

She said Waymo will work with local authorities and communities as it rolls out the technology and plans to create skilled operational jobs in Singapore.

Waymo said its initial fleet of Jaguar I‑PACE electric vehicles will arrive in Singapore in the coming months as the company establishes local operations.

The company will begin a readiness phase next year, during which trained specialists will manually drive the vehicles while Waymo adapts its autonomous system, known as the Waymo Driver, to Singapore’s road geometry and monsoon weather conditions.

Waymo said it aims to offer fully autonomous rides to the public in 2028, subject to regulatory approval.

The company said its Singapore fleet will be fully electric to support national sustainability goals and reduce reliance on private cars.

Waymo said its autonomous system uses lidar, radar and cameras to provide a 360‑degree view of surroundings and detect the movements of pedestrians, cyclists and other road users.

The company said it has provided more than 20 million fully autonomous rides and driven more than 300 million autonomous kilometres, with a 94 per cent reduction in injury‑causing crashes compared with human drivers in the US cities where it operates.

Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow said autonomous vehicles will complement existing public transport and add capacity to taxi and private‑hire fleets.

He said autonomous vehicles could serve areas where human drivers are reluctant to go and operate after hours when public transport has stopped running.

Siow said Waymo will begin testing in western Singapore, starting with the Labrador and Harbourfront area, covering use cases such as commuting, weekend travel and serving industrial zones with fewer transport options.

He said Waymo’s entry marks a new phase in Singapore’s driverless‑vehicle development.

Siow said authorities plan to deploy autonomous vehicles in one or two more Housing Board towns further from the city, such as Tampines North and Tengah.

He said Singapore currently has 16 autonomous passenger vehicles operating in Punggol.

Grab said on Monday it will expand its autonomous‑vehicle fleet from 10 to 50 over the next six months as it prepares to extend services beyond Punggol.

LTA approved Grab and autonomous‑driving firm WeRide for community rides in Punggol in January, before public rides began in April.

Grab is preparing to launch an on‑demand point‑to‑point service across selected locations in Punggol, with more service points to follow.

Siow said Singapore’s autonomous‑vehicle fleet will grow to several hundred over the next two years, though it will remain small compared with the more than 70,000 taxi and private‑hire drivers on the road.

He said the industry will create new jobs in fleet management, remote operations, system maintenance, application testing, data analysis and service reliability.

He said operators have launched training programmes for drivers interested in these roles and that the government will subsidise up to 90 per cent of salaries during training.

SINGAPORE, Sept 18 — The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said today that the additional cost arising from the two‑year delay to the North-South Corridor (NSC) will only be known after the project is completed.

CNA reported that LTA will assess whether any extra expenses should be borne by the contractor or the agency once the project wraps up.

“The final additional cost, including the allocation of costs between the parties, could only be ascertained upon the completion of the project,” a spokesman said.

The spokesman added that LTA is “not in a position to comment on project costs at this stage” as works remain ongoing.

The NSC is a 21‑kilometre integrated transport corridor designed to link Singapore’s northern towns to the city centre with dedicated bus lanes, cycling paths and pedestrian routes, and was originally expected to cost S$7.47 billion (RM23.8 billion).

LTA announced the delay yesterday, citing unexpectedly challenging ground conditions that have slowed progress and raised concerns among nearby businesses and residents.

The spokesman said tenderers receive available ground information during the bidding process to establish baseline site conditions and are expected to factor construction risks into their pricing.

“If the ground condition encountered during construction differs from the baseline information provided, the contractor can submit a claim for assessment,” the spokesman said.

LTA will “make an assessment and consider additional payment” if the claim is valid under contract provisions.

The spokesman said LTA’s priority is to complete the NSC “expediently without compromising safety”.

Businesses near construction sites told CNA they have seen falling earnings, reduced footfall and lower visibility following the revised timeline.

“LTA recognises that the revised timeline means businesses in affected areas will experience the construction impact for a longer period and appreciates their continued patience and understanding,” the spokesman said.

LTA said surface‑level disruptions should progressively ease from next year as more activities move underground.

Major underground structural works are expected to be completed from 2028, allowing affected areas to be reinstated once they are no longer required for construction.

Ahead of the full opening of the NSC, LTA said it will continue returning affected areas to public use where safe and practicable.

Businesses and residents can expect improvements such as the removal of hoardings, reinstated roads and footpaths, and restored pedestrian facilities and amenities where feasible.

SINGAPORE, Sept 18 — Two Malaysians were arrested at Singapore’s Tuas Checkpoint for attempting to smuggle more than 10 kilogrammes of cannabis worth over S$203,000 (RM649,032) into the republic by hiding the drugs in their motorcycle.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) in a statement today said the 36-year-old man and 35-year-old woman were stopped upon arriving at the checkpoint on Sept 15 on a Malaysia-registered motorcycle following information received from the ICA’s Integrated Targeting Centre.

In the course of the checks, ICA officers uncovered four bundles of vegetable matter believed to be controlled drugs underneath the motorcycle seat.

Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers were alerted and further checks uncovered six more bundles of vegetable matter believed to be controlled drugs in a black haversack on the motorcycle handlebar.

ICA said the seized bundles contained a total of about 10,164 grammes of cannabis, which could potentially feed the addiction of about 1,450 abusers for a week.

“Investigations are ongoing,” said ICA.

Under Section 7 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1973, those who import into or export from Singapore more than 500 grammes of cannabis may face the death penalty. — Bernama

SINGAPORE, Sept 18 — Speaker of Parliament Seah Kian Peng apologised today after a video showing him dozing off while chairing a parliamentary sitting on September 9 circulated widely online.

The incident drew attention after footage showed a clerk approaching the Speaker’s chair to rouse him during the debate, according to CNA.

Seah, who became Speaker of Parliament in August 2023, said in a Facebook post that he had been feeling unwell and had taken medication, adding that “that does not excuse what happened” and acknowledging that the lapse fell short of the standards expected of the office.

He said he nodded off after more than four hours of proceedings and noted that he should have called for a break earlier rather than continuing with the sitting.

Seah said he has tried to discharge his duties conscientiously over the past three years as Speaker and to uphold the expectations of the role.

He apologised for the lapse and said he would “take steps to ensure it does not happen again”.

He added that he remained committed to serving parliament and Singaporeans “to the best of my ability”.

Video footage of the moment showed MP Dennis Tan of Hougang finishing his speech on the Health Sciences Authority (Amendment) and Other Matters Bill before a staff member approached the Speaker’s desk.

KATHMANDU, Sept 17 — A Singaporean climber died on Thursday on Nepal’s Mount Manaslu, the world’s eighth-highest peak, expedition organisers said.

The 50-year-old mountaineer felt unwell as he was descending from Camp II after an acclimatisation rotation.

“He passed away this morning, arrangements have been made to airlift his body,” Pemba Sherpa of 8K Expeditions told AFP.

This season, 480 climbers are attempting to reach the summit of the 8,163-metre (26,781-feet) high mountain in Nepal.

This month, a 20-year-old Nepali porter was found dead in his tent at the mountain’s base camp.

The Singaporean climber was the first foreign fatality of the autumn climbing season.

Autumn expeditions on the Himalayas are less popular because of the shorter, colder days, snowy terrain and a narrow summit window compared to the busy spring.

Nepal has issued 536 permits for nine peaks, a little over half of the total permits issued in spring.

Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 14 highest peaks and foreign climbers who flock to its mountains are a major source of revenue for the country.

Fears for the industry rose after a devastating flood hit Nepal in late August, but expedition organisers say most climbers have not cancelled their expeditions. — AFP

SINGAPORE, Sept 17 — A Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight from London to Singapore was diverted to Istanbul on September 15 following a medical emergency on board.

Flight SQ305, which departed London’s Heathrow Airport at 9.38am local time, landed at Istanbul Airport at 5.07pm the same day, an airline spokesman told The Straits Times today.

The passenger requiring medical assistance was met by medical services upon landing and taken to hospital immediately, the spokesperson said, declining to disclose the nature of the medical situation, citing confidentiality.

The unnamed representative apologised for the inconvenience caused, but said its top priority is  the safety of its passengers and crew.

Flight tracking site FlightAware showed the Airbus A350-900 was flying over north-eastern Turkiye when it was diverted to Istanbul, in the country’s north-west.

There were 197 passengers and 16 crew on board, according to the Singapore newspaper.

The flight’s crew would have exceeded regulatory flight time limits had they continued, so the onward journey to Singapore was rescheduled to depart Istanbul at 12.10pm the following day, September 16.

SIA said it arranged hotel accommodation and rebooked affected passengers onto alternative flights where necessary.

The rescheduled flight was renumbered SQ9391 and departed Istanbul at 12.10pm, landing at Singapore’s Changi Airport at 3.33am on September 17.

The non-stop London-Singapore route typically takes about 13 hours, according to SIA’s website.

SINGAPORE, Sept 17 — Singapore has rolled out its first pilot project to explore the use of autonomous heavy construction equipment to ease manpower constraints and improve worksite safety.

JTC Corporation, a government agency under Singapore’s Trade and Industry Ministry, and Kajima Corporation, a leading Japanese construction company, are collaborating on the pilot project.

JTC Assistant Chief Executive Officer Calvin Chung said increasing the workforce was not a sustainable way to meet Singapore’s future construction needs, given JTC’s pipeline of at least 800 hectares of earthworks projects over the next five years.

“If the pilot succeeds, we will deploy autonomous heavy construction equipment across suitable projects in our pipeline and support wider industry adoption,” he said in a joint statement on Thursday.

JTC is targeting a 50 per cent reduction in operator manpower, with one operator overseeing two machines.

The pilot projects will be held at Jurong Innovation District, where autonomous machines such as excavators and compactors will be tested at the Bulim Autonomous Yard (BAY), a JTC sandbox for validating autonomous construction equipment under real site conditions.

Following the BAY trials, JTC will work with the Manpower Ministry (MOM) to develop operating guidelines and safeguards to support industry-wide deployment while prioritising human safety.

These include geofencing to keep machines within designated areas, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) sensors to detect people and obstacles, and emergency stop controls on site and in the control room.

The statement said the trial will involve an operator assigning tasks and setting virtual geographic boundaries, or geofences, for each autonomous construction machine.

Using sensors and artificial intelligence, the machine would then carry out the tasks independently, without an operator in the cabin or elsewhere. — Bernama

SINGAPORE, Sept 17 — Socio-political blogger Leong Sze Hian has been ordered by a district court to forfeit the entire S$45,000 (RM145,000) bail sum he posted for lawyer Lim Tean, after Lim fled to Malaysia to evade a custodial sentence.

Appearing before the State Courts on Thursday, the 72-year-old blogger contested the forfeiture application, arguing that he had made every effort to discharge his responsibilities as a bailor and had communicated with Lim just 24 hours before the lawyer was due to surrender to prison authorities, CNA reported.

“We told Mr Lim that we would send him off. He then messaged me to say there was no need, as he would be making a statement about jobs the next day in the morning before he reported for jail,” said Leong.

Leong added that on the morning Lim was scheduled to begin serving his sentence, Lim’s instructing counsel informed him that the lawyer had formally transferred two active legal briefs.

“So given the circumstances, I had no reason to believe that he was going to run away,” said Leong.

Appealing for judicial leniency, Leong asked the court to weigh his personal hardships, noting that he suffers from a slipped disc and hypertension, while his wife is recovering from two major cancer operations alongside other chronic medical conditions.

He maintained that he had diligently fulfilled his bailor duties over the past six years, keeping in “constant contact” with Lim during every court appearance and police interview since the lawyer’s initial arrest in October 2020 on suspicion of criminal breach of trust.

Leong asserted that in the month before Lim was due to report to prison, he was contacting him “almost daily” or at least once every two days.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Bryan Wong pressed for total forfeiture, arguing that Leong failed to maintain mandatory daily contact and neglected to verify Lim’s whereabouts on the surrender date until prompted by an investigation officer.

District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt agreed with the prosecution, ruling that the full S$45,000 must be surrendered because Leong failed to uphold his core obligations as a surety.

Chay reminded Leong that standing bail carries strict legal obligations, primarily ensuring that the accused complies with all conditions, including not leaving Singapore without judicial sanction, subject to automatic forfeiture upon default.

Lim, 61, was scheduled to surrender on Aug 3 to commence a jail term of three months and one week for practising law without a valid certificate. Instead, he slipped out of the country, triggering an arrest warrant.

He was apprehended by the Royal Malaysia Police on Aug 6 and extradited to the Singapore Police Force on Aug 11. Lim is currently serving his sentence and has not yet been formally charged over the alleged abscondment.

Lim was convicted in July 2024 for unauthorised practice after attending 32 court hearings on behalf of clients in 2021 without a valid practising certificate.

A district court initially sentenced him to six weeks’ jail and a S$1,000 fine in February 2025, but the High Court subsequently enhanced the term to three months and one week after ruling that the initial sentence was “manifestly inadequate”.

Lim was declared bankrupt in April 2026 and fined S$30,000 the same month over professional misconduct involving client funds. Two men were separately charged last month with conspiring to arrange his illegal cross-border escape.

Lim is the founder of the opposition party Peoples Voice and secretary-general of the People’s Alliance for Reform, having contested Potong Pasir SMC during the 2025 General Election.

He previously represented Leong in a 2020 defamation lawsuit filed by then-prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, which resulted in Leong being ordered to pay S$133,000 in damages.

SINGAPORE, Sept 17 — A 45-year-old former secondary school physical education teacher who sexually exploited his 14-year-old student in hotel rooms and during a school camp was sentenced to 16 years’ imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane on Sept 16.

The man had earlier pleaded guilty before the High Court to three counts of sexual penetration of a minor, with another 12 sexual offence charges involving the same victim taken into consideration during sentencing, The Straits Times reported.

A court gag order protects the identity of the victim, who is now 18 years old, prohibiting the publication of the offender's name or any information leading to her identification.

In passing sentence, High Court Judge Kwek Mean Luck agreed with the prosecution that the man’s actions were calculated and premeditated.

The court heard that the offender, who had 18 years of teaching experience, initiated contact with the student on Instagram in 2022 by discussing books and writing. The conversations soon migrated to Telegram, where he instructed her to periodically delete messages to avoid detection.

The judge highlighted that the offender systematically groomed the victim, convincing her to “hang out” in a hotel room where he caressed her and hugged her to sleep. Once she became comfortable in that setting, he booked hotel rooms on five additional occasions over the following three months.

“He exploited these opportunities alone with the victim to commit numerous sexual offences against her,” Kwek noted, pointing out that the offender took deliberate precautions to conceal his tracks by ensuring they entered and exited the premises separately.

The relationship culminated in further abuse in January 2023 when the offender summoned the girl to an isolated room during an official school camp to sexually violate her.

The victim ended the relationship later that month due to his increasingly possessive and jealous behaviour. After the girl's friend alerted a teacher on Feb 7, the school management notified the victim's parents, who lodged a police report on Feb 9.

SINGAPORE, Sept 17 — Travellers entering Singapore from Sept 30 will be able to complete the enhanced Singapore Arrival Card directly through the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority’s (ICA) mobile app, the authority announced.

The enhanced digital declaration, which allows travellers to auto-fill information by scanning their passports and offers expanded language options, has previously been accessible only via the ICA website.

In a statement on its official Facebook page yesterday, the authority reminded travellers to update their MyICA mobile app to the latest version before submitting arrival cards from Sept 30 onwards.

The requirement to update also applies to motorists and passengers using the app to generate QR codes for passport-free immigration clearance at Singapore's land checkpoints.

The Singapore Arrival Card is a mandatory electronic health declaration that all incoming visitors must submit prior to arrival.

The requirement applies to Singapore citizens, permanent residents, and long-term pass holders, but excludes transit passengers who do not seek immigration clearance as well as Singapore residents travelling overland through the Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints.

First introduced on the web portal in August, the enhanced card is now available in seven additional languages: Bahasa Indonesia, Dutch, Arabic, Spanish, Russian, Filipino, and Italian, bringing the total number of supported languages to 19.

Under the updated system, Singapore citizens, permanent residents, and long-term pass holders can also scan their passport biometric page to automatically populate their details, supplementing the existing Singpass data retrieval option. The passport-scanning feature was previously restricted to foreign visitors.

SINGAPORE, Sept 16 — Data and artificial intelligence (AI) platform Databricks announced a US$350 million (RM1.4 billion) investment in Singapore over the next three years to support AI acceleration.

In a statement, the company said it will also quadruple the size of its Singapore office with a new 32,000-square-foot headquarters and double its local workforce to more than 500 people.

“The investment reinforces Singapore’s role as Databricks’ regional hub for Asia Pacific and Japan and supports the ambitions of the country’s National AI Strategy.

“This enables Databricks to work more closely with customers, partners and government agencies as organisations transition from AI experimentation to deploying governed AI systems at scale,” it said on Wednesday.

In addition, Databricks also announced new AI programmes for startups and enterprises alongside an initiative to train 20,000 people in Singapore with data and AI skills over the next three years.

Through the initiative, supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), Databricks will address challenges in developing AI-ready talent, helping startups build AI-native businesses, and enabling more enterprises to move AI into production.

While regional AI spending continues to grow, more than half of Southeast Asian companies remain stuck in the experimentation phase due to fragmented data infrastructure and talent shortages, the company said.

Databricks Senior Vice President and General Manager of Asia Pacific and Japan Simon Davies said Singapore, as the regional headquarters, will play a central role in how the company scales across the region.

“That means investing across the entire ecosystem: helping startups become AI-native from day one, enabling enterprises to move their most important AI use cases into production, and developing the workforce capability required to scale AI responsibly.

“It is why we believe Singapore is one of the world’s leading markets for enterprise AI, not just where we operate but where we’re building for the long term,” he said. — Bernama

SINGAPORE, Sept 16 — Singapore has launched new initiatives, including more than 200 artificial intelligence (AI) courses, to strengthen careers, skills development and AI readiness, the Skills and Workforce Development Agency (SWDA) said today, reported Xinhua.

In a statement, the agency said it has also rolled out a complimentary six-month subscription to selected premium AI tools, enabling individuals to build skills and gain confidence in using AI effectively.

It has also partnered with the Singapore Institute of Technology to develop the AI Ready Quiz, which allows individuals to assess their AI readiness and identify relevant courses to build their AI capabilities.

Other initiatives include the opening of Connect by SWDA, a one-stop careers and skills service touchpoint bringing together careers and skills support for individuals and employers, and the launch of the OurWorkforce portal, which provides employers with access to workforce programs and training resources. — Bernama-Xinhua

SINGAPORE, Sept 16 — A 28-year-old woman has become the first person in Singapore to receive a custodial sentence for keeping animals in captivity for sale at unlicensed premises.

Such an act is an offence under Section 48(1) of the Animals and Birds Act, according to the National Parks Board (NParks) in a statement yesterday.

The case came to light after the woman, Ng Siew Teng, and her husband, Callurn Lim, 34, were arrested on December 27, 2023 for their involvement in a scheme to illegally import puppies from Malaysia for sale in Singapore.

The scheme was uncovered when Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers found five smuggled puppies, including two in a pet carrier placed in a plastic storage container, during an inspection of a vehicle at Woodlands Checkpoint.

“Investigations found that the couple had kept illicitly imported puppies at their residence, and profited approximately S$21,000 (RM66,720) from selling 21 puppies through Instagram,” NParks said. 

Ng and Lim pleaded guilty to five charges under the Animals and Birds Act and were each sentenced to 19 weeks and three days’ imprisonment and a fine of S$5,000 on August 5 and September 11, respectively.

This included a sentence of three days’ imprisonment and the maximum fine of S$5,000 for the Section 48(1) charge.

In a separate case, Sundra Pandian, 33, received the heaviest sentence to date for the same offence after 13 smuggled animals were found at his residence.

NParks said the animals were smuggled from Thailand through Malaysia by a transnational syndicate for sale in Singapore.

Pandian pleaded guilty to nine charges under the Animals and Birds Act and was sentenced to 24 weeks’ imprisonment on August 17.

The sentence included two weeks’ imprisonment for keeping animals in captivity for sale at unlicensed premises, the heaviest sentence meted out to date for the offence.

NParks said the case also involved Chow Chee Hoe, 25, who had facilitated the sale of the smuggled animals by collecting the animals from Pandian and selling them to prospective buyers in Singapore.

Chow pleaded guilty to one charge under the Animals and Birds (Licensing of Premises for Pet Shop and Other Purposes) Rules and was fined S$4,000 on September 1. — Bernama

SINGAPORE, Sept 16 — A luxury apartment owned by convicted money launderer Zhang Ruijin is among 26 properties linked to Singapore’s 2023 multibillion-dollar money laundering case that will go under the hammer from this week, The Straits Times (ST) reported.

The 1,991 sq ft four-bedroom unit at Wallich Residence, located on the 61st floor, has a guide price of S$6.78 million and features panoramic views towards Sentosa Cove and the future Greater Southern Waterfront, according to ST.

It is part of the first batch of more than 80 properties that will be auctioned as the Singapore Government moves to liquidate assets seized during investigations into the case. Knight Frank, SRI and ETC have been appointed to conduct the auctions on Sept 17 and 23.

According to the report, Singapore Land Authority records show the Wallich Residence unit is owned by Zhang, a Chinese national who was sentenced to 15 months’ jail after pleading guilty to money laundering and forgery charges.

Zhang’s lover, Lin Baoying, also received a 15-month jail sentence after pleading guilty to similar charges. The pair were deported to Cambodia in June 2024 after serving their sentences, ST reported.

Zhang and Lin were among 10 foreigners from Fujian, China, arrested in the probe. They had bought several luxury properties in prime Singapore developments, including Canninghill Piers, South Beach Residences and Gramercy Park.

The 10 suspects were subsequently jailed and ordered to forfeit their cash and assets. Authorities had targeted S$2.1 billion worth of assets linked to 17 suspects, with 15 of them agreeing to surrender assets valued at about S$1.85 billion in November 2024 in exchange for the withdrawal of Interpol notices against them, ST reported.

Another property on the auction block is a 6,727 sq ft four-bedroom penthouse at South Beach Residences owned by Su Yongcan, who fled Singapore before police operations related to the money laundering case began in August 2023, the report said. 

Su’s penthouse, designed by architect Norman Foster, has a guide price of S$25.3 million and will be auctioned on Sept 23. It features grey marble flooring, floor-to-ceiling windows and a large balcony overlooking the Esplanade and Marina Bay.

ST reported that four other Wallich Residence units on the 51st, 53rd, 54th and 61st floors are also being auctioned. The units feature expansive entertainment and family spaces, high-end furnishings and appliances and waterfront views, with three being sold with furnishings.

Other properties include six units at Martin Modern, four freehold units at Gramercy Park and two three-bedroom units at Sloane Residences. Guide prices for the Gramercy Park units range from S$3.8 million to S$7.6 million, while the Sloane Residences units are priced at between S$3.6 million and S$3.7 million.

Property analysts cited by ST said the properties could attract ultra-high-net-worth buyers given the limited supply of large luxury homes in Singapore’s prime districts, although some guide prices were slightly above recent transactions for comparable properties.

SINGAPORE, Sept 15 — Six Malaysians have been jailed for their roles in a daring 2024 robbery at a good-class bungalow in King Albert Park, where masked men tied up 11 people during a high-stakes poker game and stole about S$4.9 million, The Straits Times reported.

The six, who each pleaded guilty to armed gang robbery and money laundering, were sentenced yesterday. The seventh suspect, Muhammad Yusuf Kassim, 33, remains at large and is believed to be in Thailand.

The two masterminds, Wong Chi San, 35, and Goh Boon Tong, 30, were each sentenced to 12 years and 11 months’ jail, 24 strokes of the cane and a S$4,000 fine yesterday. 

Mohd Hamidon Ahmed, 49, who recruited men to provide additional muscle, was sentenced to 10½ years’ jail and 24 strokes of the cane.

According to the English daily, two of his recruits, Kartik Palaniappan, 34, and Muhammad Tauffiq Ahmad Fauzi, 34, were each jailed seven years and eight months and ordered to receive 24 strokes of the cane.

Mohd Hashim Ismail, 51, was sentenced to eight years and eight months’ jail and cannot be caned because he is above 50.

The Straits Times reported that the robbery took place in the early hours of April 18, 2024, after Wong and Goh learnt about poker games at the house, where stakes could reach several hundred thousand dollars and payments were made in cryptocurrency.

The pair later recruited Hamidon, who brought four men to Singapore. The group entered through an unlocked gate after 2am, with three men carrying machetes and two armed with baseball bats.

The robbers tied up the 11 people inside, demanded that the host transfer cryptocurrency to a wallet controlled by Wong, and took cash, luxury watches and money from a safe.

They then fled Singapore through separate checkpoints, with Wong and Goh using Tuas and the others using Woodlands.

Prosecutors said the robbery was Singapore’s highest-value heist since the 1970s after accounting for inflation. Police have recovered only cryptocurrency worth about S$1.69 million from the S$4.9 million stolen.

SINGAPORE, Sept 15 — All five regions of Singapore recorded unhealthy air quality early today, marking the first time since September 2019 that the entire island has entered the unhealthy range, The Straits Times reported.

At 6am, the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) stood at 104 in the north, 111 in the south, 128 in the east, 128 in the west and 154 in the central region.

The readings dipped slightly by 9am but remained in the unhealthy range, at 103 in the north, 106 in the south, 122 in the east, 124 in the west and 148 in the central region.

Air quality is classified as unhealthy when the 24-hour PSI is between 101 and 200. The National Environment Agency (NEA) advisesd people to reduce outdoor activities when readings reach this range, the report said. 

The north region was the last to cross into the unhealthy range, with its PSI rising to 102 at about 1am today from 99 at midnight.

The worsening air quality followed a deterioration yesterday, when all regions except the north recorded unhealthy PSI levels after several days of moderate readings, The Straits Times reported. 

Meanwhile, one-hour PM2.5 readings across most of Singapore were within the normal range at 6am, ranging from 32 to 44 micrograms per cubic metre. The central and western regions recorded elevated readings of 66 and 59 micrograms per cubic metre respectively.

By 9am, PM2.5 readings across the island had returned to normal, ranging from 28 to 36 micrograms per cubic metre, according to the English daily. 

In an advisory yesterday, NEA said Singapore’s air quality over the following 24 hours was expected to range from high-moderate to mid-unhealthy levels.

The agency said moderate to dense smoke plumes from forest fires in Kalimantan had been observed drifting towards Singapore, while smoke plumes were also detected in southern Sumatra.

“With the prevailing winds forecast to continue blowing from the south-east to east-southeast, Singapore will likely be affected by smoke haze,” the agency was quoted as saying. 

SINGAPORE, Sept 14 — A 20-year-old man was reportedly sentenced to nine years’ jail and 12 strokes of the cane today for sexual offences involving three girls aged 13 and 14.

According to *The Straits Times*, the offender had given police statements over two earlier incidents in 2023 but was not arrested before committing another sexual offence in June 2024.

He pleaded guilty to one count of rape and two counts of sexually penetrating a minor, while another rape charge and a further charge of sexually penetrating a minor were taken into consideration for sentencing.

His identity and those of the three victims cannot be disclosed due to a gag order.

Court documents cited by the Singapore daily said the offender was about 17 when he met the first victim, then aged 13, on TikTok in September 2023 and later raped her after she asked him to stop during sexual intercourse.

The girl made a police report on October 31 that year, after which the offender gave a statement to the authorities.

He later met the second victim, then 14, at a gathering in December 2023 and subsequently sexually penetrated and raped her at the staircase landing of a block of flats.

Police were alerted after her father discovered messages between the pair, and the offender gave another statement to the authorities that month.

In June 2024, after turning 18, he had sexual intercourse with a third 14-year-old girl whom he had met through Instagram, with prosecutors saying the act was consensual.

She lodged a police report three days later, and the offender was arrested the same day. 

SINGAPORE, Sept 14 — Transboundary smoke haze was observed over Singapore and extended as far as southern Vietnam today morning, the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) said.

In its daily weather and haze situation report, ASMC said the hotspot and haze situation in the region is expected to remain elevated, with a continued risk of transboundary smoke haze.

“The prevailing winds over the southern Asean region are forecast to blow mainly from the southeast, except for parts of Borneo where winds are forecast to be light and variable in direction,” it said today.

ASMC continued to detect moderate to dense smoke haze in central and southern Sumatra, West and Central Kalimantan, as well as parts of Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia.

“Clusters of scattered hotspots were detected in the southern parts of Sumatra, as well as in West, Central and South Kalimantan. A few hotspots were also detected in Peninsular Malaysia and Java,” it added.

According to ASMC, air quality stations in areas affected by transboundary haze are also reporting moderate to unhealthy levels.

Meanwhile, data from Singapore’s National Environment Agency (NEA) showed that the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) in the central region had entered the unhealthy level at 102 as of 12pm.

Air quality elsewhere remained moderate, with the East and West recording a PSI of 91 each, followed by the North at 79 and the South at 82. — Bernama

SINGAPORE, Sept 14 — Researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have reportedly found that gentle magnetic pulses could reprogramme immune cells that normally support tumour growth into cells capable of attacking breast cancer.

According to The Straits Times, the researchers used intermittent, low-intensity pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) to eradicate tumours in 75 per cent of the pre-clinical models tested after four 30-minute sessions, without chemotherapy.

PEMFs are low-energy magnetic waves that can pass through the body without producing heat or damaging tissue.

Research leader Alfredo Franco-Obregon, from the NUS Institute for Health Innovation and Technology, reportedly said the pulses interact with microscopic gates known as TRPC1 channels on cells, triggering a controlled influx of calcium that activates their mitochondria.

The researchers reportedly found that while the process can stimulate repair and energy production in healthy tissue, cancer cells were more vulnerable to excessive calcium and metabolic stress because they overexpress the channel protein.

The magnetic pulses were also found to reprogramme immune cells that promote tumour growth, causing them instead to consume breast cancer cells and helping restore the immune system’s ability to recognise and attack the cancer.

The findings were published on June 4 in the peer-reviewed journal Smart Medicine and build on earlier work by the same team showing that brief PEMF exposure could increase breast cancer cells’ uptake of the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin.

Franco-Obregon said the researchers had previously found that PEMF exposure could halve the effective dose of drugs such as doxorubicin needed to suppress cancer cells, potentially reducing treatment-related side effects.

“Our clinical objective is to maximise efficacy while slashing toxicity,” he said, adding that the aim was to preserve patients’ quality of life and immune health without reducing therapeutic effectiveness.

However, the use of magnetic pulses to directly destroy cancer cells or alter the behaviour of immune cells has so far been demonstrated only in pre-clinical laboratory models and has not been established as a treatment in patients.

Franco-Obregon said work to translate the research into patient care was already under way.

SINGAPORE, Sept 14 — The management corporation of a condominium in Bukit Panjang, a residential area in north-west Singapore, has reportedly sued the development’s developer and four other parties over alleged balcony defects discovered after a piece of concrete fell about 20 metres from a third-floor balcony in February 2025.

According to The Straits Times, the incident occurred at Block 105 of Foresque Residences, a 496-unit condominium along Petir Road, and led to inspections which found about 60 per cent of the block’s balcony slab edges produced hollow sounds during hammer-tapping tests.

Court documents reportedly showed that professional engineer Chan Chee Choon, engaged by the management corporation, identified 88 balconies in Block 105 as affected, while inspections of the condominium’s other four blocks did not find the same condition.

Chan alleged that part of the balcony slab had not been built as designed, with a 70mm section of concrete missing and the gap subsequently filled with cement mortar, creating an area vulnerable to separation.

The management corporation, which claims the defects pose a serious safety risk, is seeking damages from developer Wincheer Investment, architect Arc Studio Architecture + Urbanism, structural engineer KTP Consultants, professional engineer GLT Engineers and subcontractor Credence Engineering.

Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority was alerted on February 15, 2025, inspected the site that day and later issued a Notice to Maintain requiring immediate safety measures and permanent rectification works, but declined further comment as the matter is before the courts.

Wincheer denied liability, saying it did not carry out the construction work, had appointed competent contractors, and considered the detached cementitious patch a maintenance issue rather than a structural defect.

The developer also argued that the claim is time-barred under the six-year limitation period and said its inspections in March and April 2026 found no visible cracking or signs of structural distress.

Arc Studio said its drawings specified a full reinforced concrete balcony slab, that it had not authorised the alleged deviation, and that it was not responsible for supervising structural works.

KTP and GLT also denied design-related responsibility, with KTP disputing the testing methods and describing any problems as isolated workmanship issues, while GLT maintained that its railing design was structurally sound and code-compliant.

Credence, meanwhile, denied negligence and said its railing work had been checked by other project parties, adding that after more than 14 years it no longer had sufficient records to determine whether its subcontract even covered Block 105.

SINGAPORE, Sept 13 — Economic challenges can deepen social and racial divisions, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong warned on Saturday, pointing to recent racist comments made online.

Wong was weighing in on the “shameful” racist and xenophobic comments about Singapore Airlines’ investment in Air India, as well as the Nepal-Tibet disaster, news outlet CNA reported.

“These challenges are real,” he was quoted as saying.

He said global societies were becoming more fragmented and polarised, partly driven by economic pressures, as people who feel left behind grow frustrated — a dynamic that becomes more dangerous once it feeds into questions of identity and belonging.

“That is when divisions really start to become more entrenched, and people start to build walls between — us versus them,” Wong was quoted as saying.

He also said the government would keep addressing cost pressures and job concerns, but stressed that social cohesion ultimately depends on communities themselves reaching out and building trust with one another.

Wong was speaking at the Singapore Kadayanallur Muslim League’s (SKML) 85th anniversary dinner.

The PM said Singapore is not immune to fault lines between foreigners and citizens, between local-born and naturalised Singaporeans, and along racial and religious lines.

Wong praised SKML for expanding its work beyond the Indian Muslim community while staying rooted in it, citing partnerships with groups like Muis, Mendaki and Sinda on issues such as digital literacy and scam awareness.

He also said Singapore was not immune to fault lines between foreigners and citizens, between local-born and naturalised Singaporeans, and along racial and religious lines.

“Our own means Singaporeans regardless of race, language or religion,” he was quoted as saying.

“Because whatever our different roots and backgrounds, we are all Singaporeans, and Singapore is our country and our home.”

SINGAPORE, Sept 13 — Researchers in Singapore are developing an artificial intelligence tool that could help policymakers estimate how people might respond to economic measures such as cash handouts before the policies are implemented.

The tool, developed by four researchers at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), is designed to predict whether people are likely to spend or save additional money, what they might spend it on and how different policy designs could affect the outcome, The Straits Times reported today.

The project is among 14 worldwide selected for funding by OpenAI from more than 400 submissions to a call for proposals launched in April.

The NTU team, led by Nanyang Business School Provost’s Chair Professor in Information Systems Hyeokkoo Eric Kwon, will receive US$100,000 (S$126,800 or RM407,000) to develop and test the unnamed tool over the next six months.

The system is trained using transaction data from more than one million users of a South Korean mobile budgeting app, covering spending, retailers and monthly income between 2023 and 2025.

The data was collected from bank notifications, messages and emails sent to users when transactions were made, with names and bank account numbers removed and spending amounts, income and purchase times grouped into broader ranges.

Kwon said the system uses only anonymised data, with safeguards intended to prevent individual users from being identified.

“There should never be a situation where the data can only be matched to one profile. Depending on the level of sensitivity of the data, a profile is sufficiently anonymised if a minimum of three, five or 10 users share those exact same characteristics,” he was quoted as saying.

The researchers will then use AI agents to simulate how households might respond to proposed government policies.

For example, if a government were to give every citizen S$100 in cash vouchers, the system would estimate how much additional spending the measure could generate, where the money might be spent and how the results could differ under another policy design.

Kwon said conventional economic simulations often rely on rules based on interviews and surveys, which may not fully reflect how people behave when they actually receive money.

“Qualitative interviews and surveys are conducted to set these rules, but there is often a gap between how people actually behave and how they respond in surveys,” he said.

The researchers plan to test the AI against real-world spending data from South Korea, including transactions recorded before and after two rounds of government cash handouts distributed in July and September 2025.

Recipients had to spend the handouts at eligible retailers by November 2025, giving the team data against which to compare the system’s predictions.

The researchers also aim to make the tool open-source and capable of being used with different populations by February 2027.

The system is intended to analyse other information, including interests and political views, to improve its predictions and provide an explanation for how it reaches its conclusions.

Half of the OpenAI funding will be provided in cash, while the remainder will come as credits for subscriptions to OpenAI’s AI models.

SINGAPORE, Sept 13 — Consumers looking for a new laptop or desktop may want to think twice, as PC prices here have skyrocketed by as much as 40 per cent amid a global shortage of key components.

The squeeze is being driven largely by the artificial intelligence boom, which is consuming huge quantities of computer memory, storage and graphics cards as companies expand data centres, The Straits Times reported today.

The average price of a regular laptop in Singapore rose 26 per cent year-on-year to S$1,650 (RM5,200) in the second quarter of 2026, from about S$1,300 (RM4,100), according to the latest data from research firm IDC.

Regular desktops were up 28 per cent to S$1,410 (RM4,450), while gaming desktops jumped 39 per cent to nearly S$1,860 (RM5,870). Gaming laptops rose 17 per cent to S$2,890 (RM9,110).

The biggest pressure point is RAM, or computer memory, as manufacturers divert production towards companies building AI infrastructure, where demand and profit margins are higher.

“Since last year, the PC market has seen significant price hikes, driven largely by the memory shortage crisis that has affected the whole information technology industry,” IDC Asia Pacific associate research analyst Ho Jin Wei was quoted as saying.

The Straits Times said it checked at Singapore’s Sim Lim Square and found the average price of a 32GB DDR5 RAM kit had nearly quadrupled from S$195 (RM615) in August 2025 to S$763 (RM2,410) in August this year.

The average price of a 1TB internal solid-state drive more than doubled from S$149 (RM470) to S$328 (RM1,035), while Nvidia’s 5060 series graphics cards rose 44 per cent from S$572 (RM1,805) to S$824 (RM2,600).

IDC expects PC prices to remain elevated throughout 2027, with only a slight easing likely in the second half of the year.

“With major graphics card makers reportedly planning further price increases for their respective product lines in the last six months of 2026, this could push PC prices up further,” Ho was quoted as saying.

He added that any meaningful easing in PC prices was more likely to come in 2028 and beyond.

The squeeze is already being felt by Singapore’s computer retailers, with four shops at Sim Lim Square telling The Straits Times that sales had fallen by between 20 per cent and 80 per cent this year compared with 2025.

John Soroya, owner of R Zech Laptop, said sales of new and refurbished computers had plunged 80 per cent.

“It’s very, very difficult. Sometimes we cannot cover our rent,” he said.

Some consumers are now holding off purchases in the hope that prices will fall, while businesses and enthusiasts continue buying despite the higher costs.

Bizgram sales assistant Bryan Fun said some customers had bought computers two to three months ago because they feared prices would rise further, but more were now taking a wait-and-see approach.

He said suppliers had also informed the store that motherboard prices rose by about 10 per cent in September.

SINGAPORE, Sept 12 — A Singapore court has frozen up to US$499.2 million (RM2.04 billion) in assets linked to iron ore trader Radiant World, while its founder Pinkesh Nahar has been restricted to £4,000 a week in living expenses under a worldwide freezing order.

The restrictions were disclosed in previously unreported court filings linked to a Singapore freezing injunction against Radiant World and Nahar, Bloomberg reported, citing documents relating to an earlier worldwide freezing order issued by a London court.

Sapphire Minmetals Corporation Ltd and its chairman Rakesh Sethi are also covered by the injunction, with Sethi subject to the same £4,000 weekly limit on living expenses.

A spokesperson for Radiant World and Sethi did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The legal action was brought by LAM Trade Finance Group II LLC, a fund managed by Jefferies subsidiary Point Bonita, against Radiant World Corporation Pte Ltd, the group’s main Singapore operating company, its Hong Kong holding company Radiant World Holding Ltd, Nahar, Sapphire Minmetals and Sethi.

In the UK proceedings, Jefferies accused the defendants of falsifying iron ore invoices as part of what it described as a “fraudulent scheme”, with its claim valued at more than US$500 million.

The Singapore order prevents the defendants from removing, disposing of or reducing the value of assets in Singapore up to US$499.2 million.

The assets covered include Radiant World funds held at KBC Bank NV, Deutsche Bank AG, China CITIC Bank International Ltd’s Singapore branch, United Overseas Bank Ltd and Mizuho Bank Ltd, as well as Nahar’s personal assets at Nomura Singapore Ltd and Bank of Singapore Ltd.

The order allows the defendants to make reasonable payments for legal fees and continue dealing with their assets in the ordinary course of business.

Bloomberg reported in July that several major commodity traders had stopped dealing with Radiant World amid concerns that it had supplied falsified documents to banks to obtain financing, allegations the company denied.

Radiant World has said it conducts its business to the highest commercial and legal standards, while Singapore police are investigating the company and raided its Singapore office last month, Bloomberg reported.

Singapore is a key base for Radiant World, with the group’s main operating unit incorporated in the city-state.

SINGAPORE, Sept 12 — The police have warned cryptocurrency users whose email accounts were recently hacked to check their account security after a rise in cases involving unauthorised access to linked crypto accounts since mid-August.

The Straits Times reported that police investigations found several affected email accounts had previously appeared in data breaches on other platforms, potentially exposing users’ login credentials.

The authorities said scammers could exploit reused passwords from those breaches to gain access to victims’ cryptocurrency accounts.

“Perpetrators may have exploited this by using the compromised e-mail credentials to access victims’ cryptocurrency accounts, taking advantage of victims who reused the same passwords across multiple online services,” the authorities said.

Police said scammers may first search compromised email accounts for information on the cryptocurrency platforms or exchanges used by victims.

They could then create inbox rules to automatically archive, forward or delete messages from crypto exchanges, making it harder for victims to detect the intrusion.

Scammers may also request password resets for cryptocurrency accounts and intercept reset links, one-time passwords or verification emails sent to victims.

Police said credentials exposed in previous data breaches could similarly be used against cryptocurrency accounts where users had reused the same passwords.

The authorities advised the public to use strong, unique passwords and activate multi-factor or two-factor authentication, while regularly checking their email security settings for suspicious activity or unauthorised inbox rules.

Users whose credentials may have been exposed should change their passwords immediately and regularly review their cryptocurrency transaction histories and account activity notifications.

Anyone whose email or cryptocurrency account has been compromised should contact their email provider and cryptocurrency exchange immediately to secure or freeze the accounts, as well as check for suspicious activity and remove unauthorised trusted devices, recovery methods and authentication methods.

Police also urged anyone with information on such cases to contact the police hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online through the police website.

SINGAPORE, Sept 12 — Fitness and yoga chains True Fitness and True Yoga are shutting down in Singapore after their Hong Kong parent company said the businesses could no longer continue because of their liabilities.

The Straits Times reported that Kontafarma China Holdings announced on September 10 that the directors of True Fitness and True Yoga had resolved to wind up the businesses, citing mounting liabilities and intense market competition.

Singapore’s consumer rights watchdog Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) said members of the two chains had reported more than S$609,000 (RM1.96 million) in losses from unused memberships, packages and services.

CASE president Melvin Yong said in a Facebook post on September 11 that the agency had received 241 complaints by 6pm, up from 28 complaints earlier that day.

“CASE has reached out to the provisional liquidator and will continue to seek clarification on the arrangements for affected consumers, including information required for consumers to lodge their claims,” he said.

Two employees told ST they were informed of the sudden closure by email at about 10.30pm on September 10, roughly an hour before the outlets were due to shut.

The email from the company’s human resources department said: “all outlets will be closed effective immediately and are not to be opened tomorrow (September 11)”.

The True Singapore Group, which operates True Fitness, True Yoga, TFX and Yoga Edition, said all outlets under the brands would close as part of the winding-up process, with the group reporting a loss of HK$34.3 million on revenue of HK$181.2 million in 2025.

Its unaudited accounts for the eight months to August 31 this year showed revenue of HK$118.4 million and a loss of HK$19.1 million, while liabilities stood at HK$633.8 million against assets of HK$204.5 million, leaving net liabilities of HK$429.3 million.

Kontafarma said the group was facing unprecedented challenges from competition posed by boutique gyms, fitness apps and online coaching, while more residential developments were offering gym facilities to residents.

“While the best endeavours have been made to control costs and optimise operational efficiency of the fitness business in Singapore, the fitness business has found it extremely difficult to continue amid the fiercely challenging market,” it said.

Insolvency practitioners Goh Wee Teck and Lin Yueh Hung of RSM SG Corporate Advisory have been appointed provisional liquidators, while creditors’ voluntary winding-up proposals for True Fitness and True Yoga will be considered at extraordinary general meetings on October 7.

As at September 11, the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority’s BizFile records showed both companies as being in liquidation, while several outlets had been shuttered with liquidation or repossession notices posted at their entrances.

ST reported that a member who had paid S$79 for a monthly gym membership on September 9, just a day before the closure announcement, said she was shocked by the sudden shutdown, while the company’s former employees were also seeking clarity over outstanding September salaries.

SINGAPORE, Sept 12 — Home-grown bakery Baker’s Brew Studio, which rebranded as BB Atelier last year, has gone into liquidation after the company was found unable to continue its business due to its liabilities.

According to AsiaOne, the company resolved at a creditors’ meeting on Aug 31 to enter creditors’ voluntary liquidation, with Goh Wee Teck and Lin Yueh Hung appointed as liquidators under a resolution dated September 8.

The bakery is also facing several civil proceedings, including a negligence suit brought by PSGourmet, the company behind restaurant chain PS.Cafe, which was heard at the State Courts on Sept 1.

Baker’s Brew Studio is also the defendant in two other ongoing civil cases.

Business records list founder and director Beh Huat Jin and Toh Capital as shareholders of the company, which was incorporated in November 2014.

Baker’s Brew started as a baking studio in Sembawang in February 2015 before opening a second outlet in Upper Thomson the following year and a studio-cafe at Paragon in 2017, according to a 2019 post on recruitment platform Wantedly.

The bakery later expanded to Great World City, but all four outlets are now listed as permanently closed on Google, despite having ratings of between 4.7 and 4.8 stars from more than 3,000 reviews.

The company announced in November 2025 that it was changing its name from Baker’s Brew to BB Atelier, while Manila-based creative boutique Studio After Six, which worked on the rebranding, posted about the change on Instagram in July this year.

However, the bakery’s Facebook and Instagram accounts have been inactive since May, while its Shopee store indicates that the seller was last active about 15 weeks ago and is currently marked as being “on vacation”.

The Shopee store still lists about 40 food products, including a mao shan wang durian coconut origami cake, and has about 3,800 followers with an average rating of 4.8 stars.

The website linked to the bakery’s social media accounts is also no longer accessible, while a comment on one of its Instagram posts alleged that the company owed a supplier about S$29,000 (RM93,184), although the claim has not been independently verified.

AsiaOne reported that it had contacted the account behind the comment and Baker’s Brew Studio for comment.

SINGAPORE, Sept 12 — More than 600 luxury items forfeited in Singapore’s largest money laundering case are going under the hammer, including a 15-carat yellow diamond ring and a pink enamel clutch shaped like a serpent’s head.

CNA reported that auction house Hotlotz will conduct 15 online auctions from this month through May 2027, following the seizure and forfeiture of more than 1,000 items and 80 properties linked to the case.

The case came to light after island-wide raids in August 2023 uncovered millions of dollars linked to an illicit gambling operation based in South-east Asia.

The luxury goods are now available for online bidding, with viewing sessions beginning next Monday and running until Saturday, although appointments are required and walk-ins are not permitted.

“The response has been overwhelmingly good,” Hotlotz co-founder and director of auctions Christopher Lanigan O’Keeffe said during a media preview on Thursday.

He said viewing slots had been filling quickly, with almost all of the roughly 75 appointments available each day already booked.

As of Thursday evening, the highest handbag bid was S$39,000 for a limited-edition Louis Vuitton Yayoi Kusama leather pumpkin bag, against an estimated value of S$12,000 to S$16,000. — Screengrab from CNA

The first two auctions, covering jewellery, handbags and accessories, have combined pre-sale estimates of between S$2.9 million (RM9.3 million) and S$3.9 million.

The first auction, which closes at 4pm on September 20, includes items from Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior, while the second, ending at the same time on September 27, features jewellery by Graff, Bulgari and Van Cleef & Arpels.

The seized goods were transferred to Hotlotz about four months ago after the auction house was appointed to conduct the sales, and are being stored at Le Freeport, a high-security facility in Changi.

Hotlotz said the items had previously been held by auditing firm Deloitte and the Singapore Police Force, while specialists assessed each piece for authenticity, condition and factors affecting its value.

A 15.02-carat yellow diamond ring had attracted a top bid of S$190,000 against an estimate of S$200,000 to S$300,000. — Screengrab from CNA

As of Thursday evening, the highest handbag bid was S$39,000 for a limited-edition Louis Vuitton Yayoi Kusama leather pumpkin bag, against an estimated value of S$12,000 to S$16,000, while a 15.02-carat yellow diamond ring had attracted a top bid of S$190,000 against an estimate of S$200,000 to S$300,000.

Among the other high-value pieces is a 30-carat Hermes Kelly diamond bracelet containing 263 diamonds, which is estimated at S$150,000 to S$200,000 and had received a top bid of S$80,000 as of Thursday.

Lanigan O’Keeffe said it was difficult to predict whether the high-profile nature of the case would affect demand, noting that the value buyers place on an item’s provenance varies.

The 10 offenders involved in the case, all originally from China, have been convicted and deported after serving their sentences.

“With this particular case, we weren’t sure what the response would be, given the nature of the case. But we’ve seen a great response so far,” he said.

SINGAPORE, Sept 12 — Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has rejected a report claiming that the death penalty was discussed during an Israeli delegation’s visit to the country in May.

CNA reported that MHA issued the denial after Israeli newspaper Haaretz said on September 7 that officials from the Israel Prison Service and National Security Ministry had made a “secret visit” to Singapore and that the death penalty had been raised despite not being on the agenda.

MHA said its response followed a query from Haaretz correspondent Josh Breiner on whether the issue had been discussed.

“He was categorically told that there had been no such discussions and it would be false to suggest otherwise. It is to be regretted that Haaretz and Breiner have nevertheless put out such falsehoods,” an MHA spokesperson told CNA.

The ministry said the Israeli delegation took part in an officials-level meeting covering the exchange of best practices in emergency response, crime prevention and forensics.

“Issues relating to the death penalty were never part of the meeting and were not discussed. Haaretz’s suggestion that the death penalty was raised during the meeting is false,” the spokesperson added.

MHA said Singapore regularly works with other jurisdictions on information exchange and operational cooperation, including in fire and rescue and cybercrime.

“This is part of the Singapore government’s engagement with a wide range of international counterparts in the conduct of foreign relations, economic cooperation, security dialogue, among others, in pursuit of our national interests,” the spokesperson said.

Haaretz had also reported that the Singapore Embassy in Israel described the discussions as “technical in nature” and said they covered the same areas outlined by MHA.

The embassy said the death penalty was not part of the meeting, while Israel’s National Security Ministry likewise said “representatives of the National Security Ministry delegation and its agencies did not discuss the death penalty with their Singaporean counterparts.”

The Israeli ministry said it had maintained “highly productive cooperation” with Singapore in recent years covering counterterrorism, serious crime and criminal organisations, drug trafficking and various technological fields.

In March, Israel passed a law allowing the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of terrorism.

SINGAPORE, Sept 11 — A ship crew member hid an African elephant tusk inside a modified thermos flask in an attempt to smuggle it into Singapore, despite knowing that possessing ivory without a permit was illegal, The Straits Times reported.

The 30-year-old Indonesian man, Hafiludin, who goes by one name, was sentenced to eight weeks’ jail on Sept 10 for attempting to smuggle the tusk into the country.

National Parks Board (NParks) prosecutor Lim Chong Hui told the court that Hafiludin bought the tusk for US$150 (S$190) from a travelling merchant while his ship was docked in Lagos, Nigeria, in December 2025.

The tusk was a specimen regulated under the Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act, and Hafiludin did not have the required permits or licences to import it into Singapore, the prosecutor said.

According to the report, aware of Singapore’s laws, Hafiludin decided to conceal the tusk inside a thermos flask, which he sawed open to accommodate the item.

The tusk was about 27cm long and weighed around 550g. He then placed the flask inside his luggage.

The ship entered Singapore’s waters on Aug 8, its last port of call before returning to Indonesia.

Hafiludin disembarked with his luggage the following day at about 12.15pm through the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority’s (ICA) Keppel entrance crew office.

His luggage was subjected to a routine X-ray scan as part of security screening, which led to the discovery of the tusk inside the flask.

Hafiludin initially claimed the tusk was a “cigar-shaped apparatus” made of plastic and used for smoking. The case was subsequently referred to NParks and he was later charged in court, The Straits Time reported.