A former team leader of the Penghu County Investigation Station of the Taiwan Investigation Bureau was charged with corruption in June 2023 for letting inmates meet their wives and children secretly.

Chen Chiyuan also allegedly allowed an inmate to have sex with his wife while he looked after their children, reported Taiwan media outlet United Daily News (UDN).

His case is now being heard before the Qiao District Court in Taiwan after he was indicted by the prosecution.

In the latest update, a judge has extended Chen's travel restrictions and sea travel ban for another eight months, starting Oct. 11.

Allowed inmates to meet their families

Chen reportedly mainly investigated drug cases and held the position of a team leader.

According to UDN, Chen helped two inmates secretly meet with their families during their visits out of prison.

In April 2019, Chen arranged for an inmate to meet his fiancée and child at Tainan City Investigation Office and Nanji Station.

He was allowed to go home to have meals with his fiancée and handle personal matters.

Chen was later introduced to another inmate through this inmate.

This second inmate was subsequently released from jail but later rearrested for drug offences.

The inmate then contacted his wife to ask Chen for help.

The wife purportedly gave Chen an iPhone 11.

Later on, Chen allegedly allowed the inmate to meet with his wife at a toilet, while he acted as a lookout outside and took care of the inmate's children.

Fearing exposure of the family meeting, Chen allegedly instructed investigators to destroy the audio and video recordings from the interrogation room.

Chen has reportedly not pleaded guilty.

On Oct. 1, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto carried out what was probably his most significant cabinet reshuffle since taking office almost two years ago in October 2024.

The Jakarta Post reports that the reshuffle, his seventh so far, appointed or reshuffled 18 senior officials.

Prabowo already has one of the largest cabinets in Indonesian history, especially in the post-Suharto period, and it includes allies of both Prabowo and his predecessor, Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo.

Fattening his cabinet

BBC Indonesia cited an expert, who viewed the reshuffle as Prabowo “fattening” his cabinet by adding more roles, particularly deputy ministers.

But Prabowo also placed key allies into key positions, and kept prominent members of other parties within the government’s orbit.

Key allies

For instance, the mononymed Sugiono was moved from Foreign Minister to Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture, according to Reuters.

Sugiono has been described as Prabowo’s “ideological son” and is the deputy chairman of Prabowo’s Gerindra party.

The former foreign minister is probably the most prominent change that outside observers would have noticed.

He was replaced by career diplomat and Sugiono’s deputy at the ministry, Arrmanatha Nasir, who was Indonesia’s former permanent representative to the United Nations in New York.

Sugiono, by contrast, had much less experience in diplomacy; his most significant exposure was as the deputy head of the parliamentary commission overseeing foreign policy, and The Diplomat suggests that he was chosen due to his position as deputy chairman of Gerindra.

Another example is that the new Industry Minister, Muhammad Sarmuji, is the secretary-general of the Golkar party, which currently holds about 18 per cent of the seats in Indonesia’s parliament.

Golkar chairman and Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia retained his position and was put in charge of a new coordinating ministry for downstream industrialisation and energy transition.

Former Jokowi appointees

The Jakarta Post also suggested that Prabowo had used the reshuffle to assert more control over the government, detaching allies of his predecessor from key roles without removing them from government.

The main example they used was that of former National Police Chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo, who was replaced by Suyudi Ario Seto.

Listyo is described as a “key Jokowi ally” and was retained as National Police Chief during the presidential transition in 2024, but now has been appointed the Presidential Chief of Staff, a role which the Post describes as “diminished” in recent years.

The Post said that while the reshuffle was “not a complete purge” of Jokowi allies, an expert it spoke to suggested that Prabowo was “gradually building his own team and placing people he trusts in more key positions,” but still keeping Jokowi allies close, preventing potential political rivals from building influence outside of government.

Another significant change is the appointment of a new Deputy Finance Minister, Luky Alfirman.

This follows on from changes made in Prabowo’s sixth reshuffle in September, where he replaced his finance minister for the second time in two years, appointing Suahasil Nazara.

Coalition concerns

Another commentary in the Post said that the reshuffle shored up coalition support for 2029, when the next presidential election is to be held.

This has long been a proposed policy, as a 2024 article suggests that this was the reason why his initial cabinet was so large: to build as large a coalition as possible.

In addition to Golkar’s chairman and its secretary general, the current cabinet includes the leader of the Democratic Party and son of former Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono.

The chairmen of the National Mandate Party and the National Awakening Party also hold cabinet positions.

Arya Fernandes of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies told the Post that the reshuffle could be viewed as an effort to reinforce coalition ties as they weigh their interests ahead of the 2029 elections.

Falling polls

But lingering in the background are also more present and pressing concerns.

A July 2026 poll showed that Prabowo's approval rating had fallen to about 51 per cent, and concerns grew about Prabowo's management of the economy.

BBC Indonesia’s article on the reshuffle asked why Prabowo's government was considered “ineffective and inefficient”, with an expert it spoke to suggesting that not enough ministers had a related professional background and were instead chosen for political reasons.

Lely Arrianie, a political communications professor at LSPR, said that some of the officials considered by the public to have fallen short of expectations were not removed from the cabinet but were merely moved to other positions.

Indonesian news site Magdalene also raised concerns that such a large cabinet engendered a high cost, with significantly more salaries, allowances, and operational costs involved.

Midpoint

The South China Morning Post highlights several critiques of the government, with ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute Indonesian programme coordinator Julia Lau saying that there were concerns about Prabowo's authoritarian governance style, worries about democratic backsliding, as well as economic strain from costly state-led programmes.

Meanwhile, the rupiah remains weak, having breached the 18,000 rupiah mark to the U.S. dollar at the end of September, according to Reuters.

Yet another editorial from the Jakarta Post suggests that 49.4 per cent of Indonesians felt that economic conditions were bad or very bad, despite encouraging inflation and unemployment statistics and robust GDP growth.

It suggested that individuals were not experiencing the benefits of that growth, saying that while “someone’s making money”, most felt that they were not fully participating in the economy.

Prabowo nears the midpoint of his presidency and faces a challenging time ahead as he seeks re-election.

While entering government with lofty goals and ambitious policies, such as his free school meals programme, this most recent reshuffle suggests that his government still needs some tinkering before those goals can be accomplished.

The number of places reserved for Phase 2C of the Primary 1 registration exercise from 2027, which is open to all children regardless of their prior connections to a school, will increase from 40 to 60 in all schools, except those with smaller cohorts of fewer than 180 Primary 1 pupils.

MOE will also introduce a two-track scheme under Phase 2C for schools in neighbourhoods where the proportion of public housing is significantly lower than the national average.

Under this system, half of the reserved places will be set aside for children living within 2km of the school, while the other half will be available to those living further than 2km away.

MOE announced these changes on Sep. 10, 2026.

In Parliament on Oct. 7, 2026, Education Minister Desmond Lee responded to questions from Members of Parliament (MPs) about these changes.

"Unconscionable" for children living nearby to miss out

Mountbatten SMC MP Gho Sze Kee described it as "unconscionable" for a child living "a stone's throw away" from a school to have to attend another primary school farther away simply because the nearby school is popular.

"We should never disadvantage or handicap a child because (of) his or her address... or due to his or her socioeconomic circumstances," she said.

Gho also asked how MOE would assess whether greater social mixing had actually been achieved under the new arrangements.

"Is bringing children from different socioeconomic circumstances from further-away neighbourhoods an end to itself, or will MOE have specific indicators to determine whether this has resulted in greater social mixing and, most importantly, better outcomes for the children and the pupils?" she asked.

In response, Lee said parents ultimately decide where to send their children, and they may have different considerations when choosing a school.

However, he acknowledged the frustration among some parents who live near a school but cannot enrol their children there because of its popularity.

He said there are only a finite number of places in each school, and that the government was aware of the issue.

This was why MOE had decided to increase the number of places reserved under Phase 2C, he said, adding that the change would "tilt" in favour of families living closer to a school.

Objective of changes is to widen access

Workers' Party Non-Constituency MP Andre Low also asked whether baseline outcome indicators would be used to assess socioeconomic mixing, and whether such metrics would eventually serve as a benchmark for deciding whether to expand the two-track scheme to other schools.

In response, Lee said the objective of the two-track system, as well as the wider Phase 2C changes, was to widen access.

"When you rely on home-school distance, and the makeup or composition of a neighbourhood around the school is predominantly of one housing type, for example, private housing, then the home-school distance in and of itself does not necessarily widen access to families of different socioeconomic backgrounds," he said.

As such, the two-track scheme aims not only to maintain access for children living close to the school, but also to create a wider mix of students.

"But at least now we widen the circle and give opportunities. And for those living within zero to two kilometres, we are preserving access. We are not taking it away," Lee said.

Increasing intake of popular schools

Lee said one common recommendation he receives is to increase the intake of popular schools.

While this might sound sensible on its own, he said it must be balanced against other considerations and would not be feasible across the board.

Lee noted that if a school's cohort continued to grow, the school would eventually face infrastructure constraints.

Increasing the intake of popular schools would also not necessarily improve the social mix of those schools and could result in falling enrolment at other nearby schools.

"Ultimately there are only so many students, and our cohort sizes are shrinking," he said.

A larger intake at popular schools could also result in the merger or closure of some surrounding schools, Lee added.

"The impact is on the ability for us to provide a good geographical spread of schools across the island, including in the neighbourhoods surrounding some of these so-called popular schools, and affect geographical proximity access for some parents who would prefer that," he said.

Hyrox Youngstars is coming to Singapore.

It will take place at Singapore Expo on Nov. 28 to 29, 2026.

The Asian debut of the fitness race in Singapore is aimed at children aged eight to 15.

It comes after runs in Amsterdam and London.

Categories

The competition has four age-specific categories: Eight to nine years old; 10 to 11 years old; 12 to 13 years old; and 14 to 15 years old.

Each category is divided by biological gender.

Similar to adult competition

Hyrox Youngstars is similar to the original Hyrox competition for adults.

There are eight exercise stations including the kettlebell farmers carry, sled push, SkiErg, lunges and others.

The total running distance depends on the age group.

Registration for Hyrox Youngstars in Singapore will open online on Oct. 8.

The full rulebook is available online.

A customer who dined at a restaurant in Penang, Malaysia on Oct. 4 was caught on camera apparently pulling out his chest hair and putting it in his food.

Sin Chew Daily reported that the man, said to be with his partner, visited the restaurant around 5pm that day.

His action was reportedly uncovered after the manager reviewed CCTV footage.

Complained about hair

The restaurant manager, Zheng (transliterated), said in an interview that the couple initially wanted to order fried chicken, but ordered kuey teow, eggs, and a drink after being told that it was sold out.

According to 8world, the man soon complained of hair in his kuey teow, which was given to Zheng for inspection.

"After my investigation, I found something was wrong," said Zheng.

"If there were really hairs in the fried kuey teow, the hairs should be oily but the hairs I found at the time were dry."

There were about six to seven hairs in the food, he noted, adding that the hairs were very short and did not resemble eyelashes, Sin Chew Daily reported.

Refused to pay

The couple proceeded to try to leave the restaurant.

When Zheng pointed out that they had not paid for their food that cost about RM30 (S$9.38), the man questioned how he could pay for food of such quality before refusing to pay.

After the couple left, Zheng became more suspicious the more he thought about the incident, 8world reported.

He then reviewed the CCTV footage, where he found that the man allegedly put his hand into his clothes repeatedly, appearing to pluck out chest hairs and place them into his food.

According to Sin Chew Daily, Zheng also reportedly sent CCTV footage of the incident to other operators to keep an eye on the couple.

Singapore cannot allow its local food and beverage (F&B) scene to become a "guinea pig for the market-share aspirations of foreign chain restaurants", said Workers' Party MP Jamus Lim.

Instead, special care must be taken to protect this culinary heritage — for instance, by ensuring that mall, coffeeshop and hawker centre operators include a minimum share of halal options and local cuisine in their tenant mix.

Lim was speaking during an adjournment motion in parliament on Oct. 6.

F&B sector facing challenges

In his speech, the Sengkang MP addressed the various challenges that local F&B operators face.

Among these were rising rent, manpower constraints, and competition with foreign chains.

To the first two, he suggested measures such as the relaxation of hiring quotas to allow Malaysians — who share Singapore's hawker culture — as stall assistants, and rental caps to restrict the maximum quantum of rental increases per year.

"The specific percentage increase can be calibrated for our own local markets, based on average historical rate increases, and possibly further adjusted by property size, location, and lease duration," Lim added.

"Doing so would avoid situations, such as those widely reported in the press, where landlords hike rents by as much as 30 to 50 per cent in a single year."

Foreign competition

On the topic of tenant competition, Lim referenced the recent entry of chain concepts from countries such as China.

Such chains have deep pockets, and some have subsidies from their home states, which allow them to "bid very aggressively" on rent, he said.

Lim added that in extreme cases, they may be willing to treat a Singapore-based operation as a loss leader, to establish their brand in the Southeast Asian market.

But this may come at the expense of local restaurants, which might have been otherwise sustainable.

Culinary heritage

To that end, Lim called for malls, coffeeshops, and hawker centre operators to be held to a tenant mix with a minimum share of halal and local options.

This would serve as a "brake" on the speed of absorption of foreign tenants in F&B, without imposing a hard quota, he said.

The MP also acknowledged existing measures, such as FoodX and the F&B Process Optimisation Plan, which already provide support to the sector.

But more can still be done to "seriously" tackle business costs of hawkers and small business owners, and protect Singapore's culinary heritage, he said.

"When we walk into the food section of a mall in the future, what do we want to see?... Row upon row of only McDonald's, Subways, Jollibees, Haidilaos, and Genki Sushis?

Or do we want to also see local brands and local foods, our Ya Kuns and Old Chang Kees and Paradise, proudly alongside?"

The family of Damian Ong, the Muay Thai fighter who died following a bout at a charity event, has released a statement on Oct. 6.

In the statement, posted by his sister on Instagram, the family raised questions about what happened on Sept. 12, the day of the bout.

They also questioned whether "everything possible" was done to save Ong’s life.

The family further asked what lessons could be learned to strengthen safety standards and medical support at combat sports events in Singapore.

"We carry these questions with heavy hearts, seeking only truth and clarity about what happened to our boy. No parent should ever have to outlive their child, and no parent ever truly recovers from such a loss. As the formal processes take their course, we hold on to the hope that Damian's memory will help protect every young athlete in Singapore."

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) previously confirmed that investigations are ongoing.

Gratitude

"Damian was just 24 - a quiet, gentle and easy-going young man who took part in the AMC 13 - Fight for Hope charity event at the National Stadium on 12 September 2026 with the same trust and passion he had always brought to the sport he loved," the family wrote.

They expressed gratitude to the medical team at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, who "fought tirelessly" for Ong in the intensive care unit (ICU) for two long weeks.

"They cared for him with immense humanity and stood by us - even cried with us - in our darkest moments. We will never forget their compassion."

The family also thanked their friends and others in the community close to Ong.

"The outpouring of support from our community, local representatives, his coach, his gym-mates at Inspire Fitness Asia and the wider Muay Thai community has meant the world to us during this painful time," they wrote.

"To Damian's friends, who have helped us in so many ways and shed tears alongside us - thank you for standing by us like family. We know that many others are grieving this loss, their hearts just as broken as ours."

Donated organs

Mothership understands Ong suffered a traumatic brain injury following the match and spent about two weeks in the ICU in critical condition.

He eventually passed away on Sep. 27.

His organs were donated for transplants, saving four lives.

Mothership understands that his donation helped a 58-year-old man who had been waiting for a transplant for four years and four months, and a woman, 68, who had been on the waitlist for over two years.

His donation also helped a 40-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman who have been on dialysis for eight and nine years respectively.

Update on Oct. 7, 4pm: The article has been updated with Causeway Link's statement.

A bus accident occurred on the evening of Oct. 6 at Queen Street Bus Terminal, resulting in the death of a 30-year-old woman and the arrest of the driver.

In response to Mothership's queries, the Singapore Civil Defense Force (SCDF) and the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said that they were alerted to a road traffic accident at the junction of Queen Street and Arab Street around 7pm that day.

SCDF stated that a person was found trapped under a bus.

The person was released with hydraulic rescue equipment, but was later pronounced dead at the scene by an SCDF paramedic.

The police added that the 32-year-old male bus driver was arrested for driving without due care and attention causing death.

Investigations are ongoing.

Queen Street Bus Terminal is known for running bus services to Malaysia, with services provided by companies such as SBS Transit, Causeway Link, and the Singapore-Johore Express.

In photos shared online, a police tent can be seen next to what appears to be a service CW2 bus, run by Causeway Link.

Other photos show SCDF personnel kneeling and attempting to look under the bus, while police officers held up what seems to be a translucent blue sheet.

SBS Transit made a Facebook post at 9:19pm on Oct. 6, writing that its bus service 170 had been delayed and would not operate from Queen Street Bus Terminal due to an accident. 

Passengers were told instead to use a temporary shelter near the junction of Arab Street and Queen Street.

Service 170 returned to normal operations at 11:50pm.

Causeway Link told Mothership that they are aware of the "serious incident".

They declined to provide further comment but stated that they are providing support to the driver and passengers involved.

Causeway Link also expressed its deepest sympathies for the pedestrian's family and loved ones, and said that they will cooperate fully with the ongoing investigation.

It will share further updates when appropriate.

32-year-old Gabriel Foong Shi Cheng was charged in court today for murder after a 73-year-old man died after being stabbed on Oct. 5 evening near Block 61 Telok Blangah Heights.

A 53-year-old man was also allegedly injured by Foong.

Court hearing

Foong, a Singaporean, appeared in court via video link and was dressed in a white collared t-shirt.

The court hearing was conducted via a Mandarin translator.

Foong was handed one charge of murder over the death of a 73-year-old on Oct. 5 near Block 61 Telok Blangah Heights.

According to charge sheets seen by Mothership, Foong is accused of causing the death of 73-year-old Tham Nam Poh.

The incident took place at the void deck of Block 57 Telok Blangah Heights at about 6pm on Oct. 5.

When asked if he understood the charge read to him, Foong responded that he did.

He is represented by a team of lawyers from Invictus Law Corporation, including its managing director Josephus Tan, who were present in court.

The prosecution applied for the accused to be remanded for three weeks, and is seeking an IMH assessment for Foong.

The judge granted the application.

Foong's next court hearing is scheduled for Oct. 28.

Background

Police said they received multiple calls for assistance on Oct. 5 at about 6pm at Block 61 Telok Blangah Heights.

On arrival, they found the 73-year-old motionless.

He later died at the hospital.

A doctor from the nearby clinic who attended to the 73-year-old shared that the man had suffered injuries to his neck and chest areas.

A 53-year-old was also injured by Foong and had a wound on his left shoulder.

He was conveyed conscious to the hospital.

According to the police, Foong later turned himself in.

Eyewitnesses shared that the two injured men ran from the direction of Block 56 to the Block 61 coffee shop.

Help was then sought from the doctor at a nearby general practitioner clinic.

The 73-year-old deceased was a regular at the Block 61 coffee shop, one of the vendors told Lianhe Zaobao.

Eyewitnesses also reportedly saw Foong looking dazed, with some speculating that he might have been under the influence of drugs.

The deceased and Foong did not know each other, Shin Min Daily News reported.

A Singaporean man, 35, was referred to the police after he made remarks about a bomb in his vehicle at Woodlands Checkpoint.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said in a statement on social media on Oct. 6 that the incident occurred on Oct. 4 at around 6:20pm.

Taunted ICA officers

The man was travelling with five companions in his vehicle when they were directed to undergo enhanced checks at the Arrival Cargo Zone, ICA said.

After checks on the vehicle ended, the man taunted ICA officers about finding a bomb in his vehicle.

Officers immediately cordoned off the area and additional resources were activated to conduct further checks on the vehicle and the group of travellers, ICA added.

The checks established that there was no bomb in the vehicle.

The man was referred to the police for the offence of making indecent communications likely to cause alarm under the Protection from Harassment Act.

Police investigations are ongoing.

ICA said it takes the security of Singapore’s checkpoints very seriously.

The authority added:

"All reports of security threats will be thoroughly investigated. We will not hesitate to act against those who make false or misleading claims that may cause unnecessary alarm. Travellers are also reminded to conduct themselves in an orderly manner and comply with officers’ instructions at the checkpoints."