On January 3 2026, the Singapore Civil Defence Force was alerted to two separate fires in residential units within a few hours of each other. The first incident occurred at approximately 1:20 PM at Block 108 Bukit Purmei Road. Upon arrival, firefighters found a bedroom on the sixth floor engulfed in flames. They conducted a forcible entry into the smoke-filled unit and used two water jets to extinguish the fire. Preliminary investigations suggest the fire likely originated from the battery of a power-assisted bicycle located in the bedroom. About 20 residents from the block were evacuated as a precautionary measure, and no injuries were reported.
Two hours later, at about 3:20 PM, another fire broke out at Block 816 Tampines Avenue 4. SCDF arrived to find black smoke emitting from a bedroom of a unit on the seventh floor. Firefighters again forced entry into the unit, as no one was home at the time, and successfully confined the fire to the bedroom using a single water jet. Approximately 30 people were evacuated from the affected block by police and SCDF. There were no reported injuries in this incident. The cause of the Tampines fire remains under investigation, though SCDF reminded the public to avoid overloading power sockets and to extinguish lighted materials before leaving home.
In legal news, the former Scoot airline employee Luqman Hakim Shahfawi, age 31, appeared in court to answer for the misappropriation of in-flight sales proceeds. Luqman, who held the position of complex leader, was responsible for supervising cabin crew and collating cash payments from food and beverage sales. The court heard that between July 2023 and March 2025, he failed to deposit cash into the airline's safe on 366 separate occasions. The total amount misappropriated was nearly 40,000 dollars. Luqman admitted that he began keeping the cash after losing two bags of money and fearing discovery by his supervisors. When he realized he was not being confronted, he continued to keep subsequent cash proceeds to repay debts to unlicensed moneylenders. He eventually confessed to his actions, leading to a police report on March 20 2025 and his arrest the following day. He pleaded guilty to one count of criminal breach of trust involving over 22,000 dollars, with a second charge covering the remaining 18,000 dollars to be considered during sentencing on February 3 2026.
Regarding environmental policy, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Janil Puthucheary announced on January 3 2026 an update to the upcoming beverage container return scheme. While the scheme is still set to officially begin on April 1 2026, the transition period for the industry has been doubled from three months to six months. This extension, which now ends on September 30 2026, was granted following feedback from stakeholders who required more time to clear existing stocks that do not carry the scheme’s deposit mark. Under the new rules, consumers will pay a 10-cent deposit for beverages in containers ranging from 150ml to 3 litres. This deposit is fully refundable when empty containers are returned to over 1,000 designated return points, which will be situated at supermarkets and various communal areas. The scheme is a major part of Singapore’s transition toward a circular economy and is expected to operate until at least March 2033. Scheme operator Beverage Container Return Scheme Limited will be providing more public engagement and outreach in the coming weeks to help consumers identify the new deposit marks.
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