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  A welding trainer with NTUC LearningHub was sentenced on April 4 to four months’ jail and a fine of $26,570 after he was caught taking bribes from trainees to help them pass their course assessments. Sandran Samoo, a 52-year-old Malaysian and Singapore permanent resident, admitted to collecting over $26,000 in bribes from 2016 to 2022. He pleaded guilty to five charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act, with another 21 charges taken into consideration during sentencing. Sandran had been working as a welding course trainer with NTUC LearningHub since 2012. As part of his role, he regularly conducted a five-day welding workshop multiple times a year and also served as an invigilator for the practical assessment on the final day of each course. Trainees who passed this assessment would receive a welding certificate, which, while not a mandatory requirement for welders in Singapore, is widely sought after. Most employers prefer workers with this certification, making it an imp...

  A 39-year-old Bangladeshi construction worker, Razel, was sentenced to 21 days in jail on April 4, 2025, after pleading guilty to a charge of cheating. Razel created a fake online persona of a young Filipina domestic worker named “Astuti” to scam unsuspecting men on a dating platform. His deception led to 43 male victims being cheated out of a total of $946 over the span of just over two months. The case began in August 2024, when Razel learned that some men were willing to pay women on dating apps in exchange for companionship or a romantic relationship. Curious to see if this was true, he decided to test the idea himself by impersonating a woman on the dating app “Tagged.” He created a profile claiming to be a fair-skinned Filipina maid in her 30s named “Astuti.” Once the fake account was active, Razel began chatting with male users. The initial test soon turned into a pattern of deceit when one man, believing he was speaking to “Astuti,” agreed to transfer $15 after being to...

  A 36-year-old man, Lin Jun Kai (name transliterated), has been sentenced to six months in jail and fined $52,259 for operating an illegal gambling den from his HDB flat in Serangoon North. Lin pleaded guilty to one of three charges, which included offences under the Gambling Control Act and the Common Gaming Houses Act. The other two charges were taken into consideration during sentencing. The police raid occurred on the evening of December 27, 2023, at around 9:52 PM. During the raid, officers discovered gambling paraphernalia including poker tables, chips, and playing cards. At the time, ten people were found playing Texas Hold'em poker inside Lin’s home. Investigations revealed that Lin started hosting poker games at his flat around mid-September 2023. What began as casual gambling sessions with friends soon turned into a full-scale gambling operation. Lin expanded his clientele by advertising in a public Telegram group, allowing members of the public to attend these sessions....

  Between 24 February 2025 and 28 March 2025, a major international law enforcement operation targeting online child sexual exploitation resulted in the arrest of 435 individuals and the investigation of another 109. The joint operation, involving the Singapore Police Force, Hong Kong Police Force, Japan National Police Agency, Korean National Police Agency, Royal Malaysia Police, and Royal Thai Police, spanned across six jurisdictions in Asia. This coordinated effort, one of the largest of its kind in the region, focused on dismantling online networks engaged in the production, possession, and distribution of child sexual abuse materials, including those generated using artificial intelligence (AI) tools. The age range of those apprehended—525 men and 19 women—was between 13 and 68 years old. Over the course of five weeks, law enforcement agencies carried out raids at 269 locations in Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, and Thailand. Officers from the Specialised C...

  In a sombre and direct message to Singaporeans, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong urged the nation to brace for a more unstable and dangerous global environment. He made these remarks in a speech posted online on April 4, 2025, following a dramatic announcement by US President Donald Trump to impose a 10% tariff on most goods imported from Singapore and several other countries. PM Wong described the new tariff measures as a “seismic shift” in global trade and warned that this signals the end of an era defined by rules-based globalisation. He highlighted how the global order — once supported by clear norms and institutions such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) — is now eroding rapidly. The Prime Minister emphasized that the world is transitioning into a phase where nations act primarily based on self-interest, often using pressure or force to achieve their goals. “The global calm and stability we once knew will not return anytime soon,” he said. “We cannot expect that the rules w...

  On April 2, 2025, a 42-year-old Malaysian national, Zhang Jiesen (transliteration), who is a Singapore permanent resident, was sentenced to 18 weeks in jail for secretly filming a female tenant in a shared bathroom. He pleaded guilty to one count of voyeurism, while two other charges — obstruction of justice and breaching the Films Act — were taken into consideration during sentencing. The incident occurred in a public housing unit rented by Zhang and his wife, who then sublet rooms to four tenants — two men and two women. According to court proceedings, Zhang had malicious intentions targeting one of the female tenants. On October 20, 2023, he ordered a miniature camera and memory card online. By November, he began hiding the device in the shared bathroom used by all four tenants. Zhang carefully timed his actions. He would typically set up the camera between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., a time when he knew the victim was likely to return home from work and use the bathroom. Using blu tac...

  On April 4, 2025, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) announced that a 24-year-old woman is assisting with investigations after a video surfaced online in March showing her vaping on board a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) train in Singapore. The video, which was widely circulated on social media, drew public concern due to her erratic behavior and the open flouting of the law in a public setting. In the video, the woman appears visibly drowsy. Her head droops forward, her hair falls over her face, and her hand movements are unsteady and jerky. She is seen adjusting her hair and exhaling smoke inside the train cabin. The footage prompted HSA to take immediate action. HSA managed to identify the woman and subsequently conducted a raid at her residence on March 24, 2025. During the operation, authorities recovered one e-vaporiser and three e-vaporiser pods. These items were sent for laboratory analysis, which confirmed that the pods contained etomidate—a potent anaesthetic drug typically ...

  On April 1, 2025, four individuals were charged in court for their involvement in a conspiracy to deceive a homeowner into renting out a bungalow at 32 Victoria Park Road, which was later used as a private club. The accused include Su Wenhui, 44, a Cambodian national; Wu Pengfei, 35, a Singaporean; Su Zhentan, 40, a Chinese national; and property agent Xu Huiming, 35, a Malaysian. They face between one to three charges each under various laws including cheating, the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, and the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act. According to the charges, the four individuals allegedly conspired with a person named Wu Guojing to deceive the homeowner into signing a rental agreement with Wu Pengfei as the official tenant. However, the property was subsequently used as a private club, which was not disclosed to the owner. Between April and May 18, 2024, Su Wenhui and Su Zhentan allegedly worked without valid work perm...

  On April 3, 2025, five Malaysian men were sentenced to jail and fined for their roles in a transnational scam operation based in Johor Bahru. The group was involved in a "fake friend scam call" scheme that defrauded at least 70 victims in Singapore, causing losses exceeding $164,000. Their victims, many of whom were elderly individuals aged between 68 and 76, were tricked into transferring money through deceptive phone calls and messages. The scammers pretended to be friends or acquaintances of their targets, persuading them to send money under various false pretexts. The men were recruited between May and August 2023 and operated from a scam center at the Marina Residence JB condominium. Each was paid between RM3,000 (S$915) and RM5,500 monthly, along with commissions of 10% based on the amounts they swindled. They were also provided with food and accommodation. Among them, Chua Zi Huang, 24, received the harshest sentence—four years and seven months in jail, along with a ...

  A driver traveling along KJE Exit 2 towards Bukit Timah had an unexpected encounter with wildlife at night towards the end of March 2025. While driving in low-visibility conditions, the motorist noticed a deer crossing the road and instinctively slowed down. However, shortly after, a second deer, presumably a baby, ran across the expressway, and despite the driver’s efforts to brake, the vehicle collided with the young deer at a speed of approximately 40km/h. Fortunately, the baby deer was still able to get up and run off after the impact, and the driver’s car sustained no visible damage. The incident raised concerns about wildlife movement near major roads, particularly in areas where animals are rarely seen. The driver shared their experience, expressing confusion over why deer were present near the KJE. The highway is a high-speed roadway, and having animals unexpectedly cross it poses significant dangers not only to wildlife but also to motorists. A sudden appearance of anima...