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  Two Italian national swimmers have been banned from re-entering Singapore after being arrested and issued a conditional warning for a shoplifting incident at Changi Airport. The Singapore Police Force confirmed the details of the case in a statement on September 4, 2025, following media reports about the arrest. The individuals involved are Benedetta Pilato, aged 20, and Chiara Tarantino, aged 22. Both women were part of the Italian contingent that competed at the World Aquatics Championships held in Singapore from July 11 to August 3, 2025. The alleged offense occurred on August 14, after the athletes had returned to Singapore from a holiday in Bali. They were in transit, scheduled to continue their journey back to Italy. According to reports, the two were arrested at the airport after surveillance cameras allegedly captured Chiara Tarantino placing perfume products into Benedetta Pilato's suitcase. The act was identified as shoplifting, leading to their detention by airport aut...

  A 22-year-old Indonesian man has been charged in court for allegedly trying to deposit a counterfeit $10,000 note. Aurick Kenji Almira Valeryan is accused of handing the fake currency to a UOB bank officer at a Clementi branch on August 15. The bank staff became suspicious and alerted their manager, who then contacted the police. Officers arrested Valeryan at the scene. He was formally charged on September 4 and is expected to plead guilty at his next court hearing on September 25. If convicted, he faces a severe penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a potential fine for the offense of delivering a counterfeit note.

  A 15-year-old girl in Singapore has made a public and deeply personal appeal for help, sharing a detailed account of alleged severe and sustained abuse at the hands of her parents in a viral social media post published on September 3, 2025. The post, which includes images of injuries, describes a childhood marred by physical violence, emotional manipulation, and fear. The girl, who identifies herself as Claudia, states that the abuse began when she was eight years old. She describes a home environment where her father’s love was conditional upon meeting impossibly high academic expectations. Failure to meet these standards, she alleges, resulted in severe physical punishment, including caning and being struck with fists, which left painful welts and bruises. She further recounts incidents where objects were thrown and knives were used to threaten and intimidate her. Specific severe incidents detailed in her account include being slapped with such force that her gums bled and she ...

  A Lamborghini and a black sedan were involved in a head-on collision at the junction of Yishun Avenue 1 and Yishun Street 52 on the evening of September 2, 2025. The incident was captured on video by passers-by. Footage shows the Lamborghini accelerating on an amber light into the junction. Simultaneously, the black sedan, traveling in the opposite direction, attempted a right turn, resulting in a high-impact crash that spun the sedan around. The accident occurred near pedestrians, who moved to safety. Both vehicles were damaged. The Singapore Civil Defence Force responded and assessed two people for minor injuries, both of whom declined hospital transport.

  A large Alaskan Malamute dog has been seized by authorities from a Toa Payoh residence due to welfare concerns. The National Parks Board was alerted on September 1, 2025, that the dog was confined in a potentially dangerous way on the service balcony of a thirty-fifth-floor unit. Officers inspected the home and found the dog living in cramped conditions. Determining the situation was unsafe, they removed the dog, which is now under their care and reported to be well. The incident gained attention after a video was posted online showing the dog trying to push through a window. Investigations are ongoing, and the agency is in touch with the owner. Authorities reminded the public that pet owners must provide safe shelter and proper care for their animals at all times.

  Singapore's Immigration and Checkpoints Authority foiled a major smuggling attempt on August 20, 2025. Officers at the Pasir Panjang Scanning Station detected anomalies in a scanned forty-foot container declared to be carrying rubber mats. A physical inspection revealed the container held a massive quantity of contraband. Authorities discovered forty-two thousand cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes and four thousand eight hundred packets of duty-unpaid tobacco hidden inside. The case was referred to Singapore Customs for a full investigation. The agency reiterated its commitment to securing Singapore's borders against such illicit activities while ensuring the facilitation of legitimate trade and travel.

  A significant shipment of contraband electronic vaporisers, suspected to be intended for the Singapore market, has been intercepted by Malaysian Customs officials. The seizure, which took place at Port Klang in late July 2025, involved the discovery of approximately 300,000 vapes and their various components concealed within shipping containers. According to sources familiar with the ongoing investigation, the shipment originated from China. When Customs officers conducted an inspection of the containers on July 30, they encountered cardboard boxes that were declared on official shipping manifests as containing furniture. The officers' suspicion was raised due to the boxes being wrapped in distinctive green polythene bags. This specific packaging method is recognized as a known modus operandi used by syndicates that specialize in smuggling vaping products across international borders. The seized electronic vaporisers were identified as being of the "Salthub" brand. A ke...

  A Malaysian national has been sentenced to jail and fined for committing multiple offenses at Singapore's border. The individual, 42-year-old Ng Choh Kit, was sentenced on Monday, September 1, 2025, after being apprehended by authorities at the Woodlands Checkpoint earlier in the year. The incident occurred on the afternoon of May 18, 2025, at approximately 4:40 p.m. Ng was driving a Malaysia-registered vehicle through the arrival zone of the checkpoint when he was stopped by Singapore Customs officers. An inspection of his vehicle revealed five passengers on board. Further investigation led to the discovery of a significant quantity of contraband cigarettes. For the cigarette offense, Ng faced a charge under the Customs Act. The unpaid excise duty on the seized cigarettes was assessed to be more than forty-two thousand dollars. For this serious customs violation, the court sentenced him to nine months in prison. The case involving the five passengers was referred to the Land Tra...

  Law enforcement agencies in Singapore have conducted a significant operation resulting in the arrest of twenty-seven individuals suspected of being involved in a wide range of scam operations. The group, consisting of twenty men and seven women between the ages of 17 and 61, is believed to have facilitated criminal activities that led to victim losses exceeding four and a half million dollars. The suspects are scheduled to be charged in court from September 1 to September 3, 2025. They face a variety of offenses connected to scams-related money mule activities. The specific charges include abetment to cheating, assisting another to retain benefits from criminal conduct, abetting unauthorized access to computer material, and the unlawful disclosure of passwords or access codes related to the national digital identity service. Investigations into the group revealed that their actions were critical in enabling criminal syndicates to operate. Twenty-six of the individuals are alleged...

  A domestic worker has been sentenced to jail for conspiring to make a false statement to Singapore's work pass authorities in an attempt to remain in the country after her employment was terminated. The individual, Sotto Jennie Villaron, a 37-year-old Philippine national, received a three-week jail sentence on Monday, September 1, 2025. The court proceedings revealed that Sotto was working in Singapore as a migrant domestic worker when she began a relationship with a Singaporean man, Faizal Farid, in 2021. In early February 2024, Sotto informed Faizal that her employer at the time intended to terminate her employment. Faced with the prospect of having to return to the Philippines, she asked her boyfriend for assistance. Sotto specifically requested that Faizal help her obtain a work pass under his name. The purpose of this was to validate her stay in Singapore under the pretense of being his domestic worker, even though she had no actual intention of working in that capacity for ...

  A 37-year-old man from China has been sentenced to 11 weeks in jail for attempting to bribe police officers in Singapore as part of a calculated plan to remain in the country illegally. Xu Zhishen pleaded guilty to one count of offering a bribe to a public servant, with a second similar charge taken into consideration during his sentencing on Friday, August 29, 2025. The court proceedings revealed that Xu had initially arrived in Singapore in late March 2025 with the intention of securing employment through two job interviews. After he failed to obtain a job, he subsequently lost approximately ten thousand dollars from gambling at a local casino. In April, he briefly left for Malaysia and re-entered Singapore to renew his social visit pass, still intending to find work and recoup his gambling losses. It was upon his return that he encountered an individual identified only as A1 in court documents. This individual provided Xu with unlawful advice, suggesting he could earn money by...

  A major cinema chain in Singapore has ceased all operations and closed its doors permanently. Cathay Cineplexes officially ended its business on September 1, 2025, following an announcement from its parent company regarding its financial state. The closure was immediate and affected all of its remaining locations across the island. The parent company, mm2 Asia, made the announcement in a filing on September 1. The company stated that Cathay Cineplexes was no longer able to continue operating as a viable business. The decision was made to place the cinema chain into a creditors’ voluntary liquidation process. This means a liquidator will be appointed to manage the company's assets and settle its debts with creditors to the greatest extent possible. According to the filing, the cinema chain had been struggling with significant financial obligations, particularly to the landlords of its various outlets. The parent company noted that Cathay Cineplexes had attempted to negotiate with ...

  Two people were taken to the hospital after a lorry caught fire on Admiralty Road West in Sembawang. The incident occurred on the morning of August 31, 2025, with the Singapore Civil Defence Force receiving an alert at about 11:00 a.m. The fire involved the back compartment of the vehicle. Firefighters extinguished the blaze using two compressed air foam backpacks and a water jet. The two individuals were transported to Singapore General Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation. A video from the scene showed significant black smoke emanating from the lorry and embers on a nearby grass patch. The Singapore Civil Defence Force has stated that it is investigating the cause of the fire.

  A traditional Chinese medicine practitioner in Singapore is facing serious criminal charges following allegations of molestation. The accused individual is Ho Ked Choong, a 74-year-old man who is the owner of a medical hall located in the Yishun area. The charges were formally presented in court on September 1, 2024, relating to incidents that are said to have occurred in June of the same year. The allegations state that the offenses took place at the man's place of business, Sing Wah Medical Hall, which is situated at Block 780 on Yishun Ring Road. The reported victim is a 46-year-old woman. According to the court documents, the first alleged incident occurred on June 15, 2024. It is claimed that the man outraged the modesty of the woman at his clinic on that date. The charges further detail that the man allegedly committed two additional acts six days later, on June 21, 2024. The court documents state that he again outraged the modesty of the same woman on that day, bringing th...

  A significant, island-wide enforcement operation targeting public entertainment outlets in Singapore has concluded, resulting in a large number of arrests and seizures related to electronic vaporisers and other offenses. The operation, which was a joint effort by multiple agencies, took place over a two-week period from August 15 to August 23, 2025. The scale of the operation was substantial, involving more than 270 officers deployed from various law enforcement bodies. These officers conducted a total of 16 coordinated operations across all seven Police Land Divisions. Their efforts focused on 151 different pubs, bars, and KTV lounges, where they performed checks on more than 1,600 individuals. The initiative is part of a broader, ongoing government effort to combat the use and distribution of electronic vaporisers. The primary outcome of these raids was the apprehension of 195 individuals for offenses directly related to electronic vaporisers. Those caught ranged in age from 17...

  A 20-year-old woman, Claris Ling Min Rui, pleaded guilty in court after making a false assault report against a 43-year-old man she met through the dating app Sugarbook. They had dinner, drinks, and consensual sex at a hotel on March 18, 2025. After the encounter, Ling demanded S$1,200, but the man offered only S$500. Upset, she threatened to accuse him of sexual assault and later reported to police that he had assaulted her. She also texted him: “You’re f***ed.” Police reviewed CCTV footage from the hotel and found her story did not match. At 2.10am, Ling admitted she had lied because the man refused to pay. She pleaded guilty to giving false information to a public servant and threatening words under the Protection from Harassment Act. The judge has called for a probation suitability report before sentencing. Ling faces up to two years’ jail for lying to police and up to six months for causing alarm.