The Philippines has temporarily banned the online game "GoreBox" after one of the two students who allegedly shot up a school, was found to be an avid player.

The shooting left three dead and 20 others wounded.

The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Centre under Secretary Renato Paraiso said on Jun. 23 that the ban was a precautionary measure, Bloomberg and Associated Press reported.

“We cannot ignore possible online influences that may have contributed to this tragic incident,” Paraiso said.

Shooting

On the morning of Jun. 22, two students, aged 14 and 15, armed with handguns, opened fire in a high school located in Tacloban City, the Philippines.

Both of them were apparently friends who were bullied, and they had no prior criminal record.

According to local police, 15 of the 20 injured were shot, while the others were injured as they stumbled and jumped out of a window to dash to safety.

One of the armed students used a 9mm pistol belonging to his aunt, a police officer, in the attack.

The other student used a .38 calibre revolver.

As there was reportedly only one guard on duty at multiple entrances and exits, the pair were able to bring the firearms into the school.

Most of the dead and wounded were female students.

At least 40 shell casings were recovered at the scene of the attack.

The 14-year-old would be exempt from criminal prosecution under Philippine law, which sets the minimum age of 15 for a minor to be criminally liable and only if authorities determine that a suspect was clearly aware of the crime committed and its repercussions.

"Gorebox" game

According to its Steam listing, it is a “chaotic physics-driven” sandbox game.

It allows players to experiment with various weapons on “semi realistic active ragdolls which react to wounds and scenarios”.

The game depicts “realistic blood pooling” and dismemberment.

On Mar. 11, F2Games, developers of "GoreBox", removed its multiplayer mode due to exploiters, bot raids and security vulnerabilities deemed “too deep to fix”.

A Singaporean woman slapped, punched, and scratched the domestic helper she employed as she was upset with the way she performed tasks.

According to CNA, Hazel Phang Fong Yen, 67, was sentenced to four months' jail on Jun. 24 after she pleaded guilty to one charge of voluntarily causing hurt to a domestic worker with a second similar charge taken into consideration.

Phang was also ordered to pay S$4,440 to the victim, 27-year-old Myanmar national Man Sian Hoih Cing.

Phang will serve another four weeks in jail if she does not pay.

Punched victim once on her eye

According to court documents seen by Mothership, the victim started working for Phang in August 2022 when she was 23.

Phang lived with her husband and mother in a flat.

In September 2022, Phang asked the victim to check the expiry date of a food item and perform another task.

The victim performed the other task but forgot to check the expiry date, which angered Phang, leading her to slap the victim's cheek.

Phang slapped the victim again on another occasion in September or October 2022, as the victim did not hear Phang's mother ask for assistance.

In a separate incident around the same time, Phang asked the victim to clean soap bottles in the toilet.

The victim sprayed the bottles with water.

Phang became upset at the victim for cleaning the bottles in such a manner and punched the victim once on her eye.

Scratched victim's neck & chest, drawing blood

In October 2022, while the victim was hanging bedsheets to dry on a pole, Phang scolded her for hanging the heavier sheets at the end of the pole.

According to court documents, Phang scratched the victim's neck and chest region, which started bleeding.

On Oct. 15, 2022, Phang told the victim to water the plants at around 6pm.

At the time, the victim was cooking and cutting fruits for Phang's husband.

When Phang realised the plants were not watered, she became angry and scratched the victim's face at least twice, near her cheek and under her nose.

Medical report stated victim had blunt trauma to eye

The next day, Phang's niece visited the flat and saw that the victim was bleeding.

She told her father, who was Phang's brother.

He took the victim to Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) to seek medical attention.

The TTSH medical report dated Feb. 2, 2023, stated that the victim was presented to the emergency department on Oct. 16, 2022.

The victim was diagnosed with blunt trauma to her eye, facial bruising and multiple abrasions over her face and chest.

The victim's wounds were dressed, and she was discharged with medication.

The victim took photos of her injuries.

After she was discharged, the victim moved in with Phang's relatives.

Centre for Domestic Employees staff lodged police report

On Dec. 27, 2022, the Centre for Domestic Employees (CDE) contacted the victim as part of a routine well-being call.

The victim informed CDE that Phang had hurt her, and CDE staff lodged a police report and brought her to Alexandra Hospital (AH) Urgent Care Centre on the same day.

The AH medical report dated Feb. 4, 2023 found scars on the victim's upper lip, left cheek and chest wall as a result of Phang's actions.

Phang was arrested on Sep. 9, 2025 and released on bail on the same day.

S$470 monthly salary

The victim's monthly salary was S$470, and she was unemployed for two months from the date that the police report was lodged, from Dec. 27, 2022, to Feb. 28, 2023.

Phang paid the victim her salary of S$470 and pocket money of S$72.30 on Dec. 8, 2022, for the period between Nov. 9 and Dec. 8, 2022.

She also paid the victim another S$289.20 for the period between Dec. 9 and Dec. 27, 2022.

Sentencing

The deputy public prosecutor sought four to six months' jail for Phang and a compensation order of S$4,440.

The compensation sum consists of S$940 for the victim's two-month-long unemployment period and S$3,500 for her pain and suffering in the two charges as she was scarred on her face and chest.

According to CNA, Phang's lawyer, Kalaithasan Karuppaya from Regent Law, sought a fine of S$10,000 or three months' jail.

He said Phang was remorseful and lives with her 70-year-old husband, who is a prostate cancer survivor.

The couple have no children, and Phang has been unemployed since her health started to worsen — she was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2022 and suffers from other conditions as well.

He said that Phang was also the primary caregiver for her 103-year-old mother until she died in 2024, reported CNA.

Kalaithasan added that Phang was underweight at 38kg and frail, arguing that any jail term would greatly jeopardise her recovery and rehabilitation.

An offender can face up to three years' jail or a fine of up to S$5,000 or both, for voluntarily causing hurt.

Phang could have faced up to double the penalties as the victim was a domestic helper.

A fruit stall in Tampines has been giving away up to 1,000kg of free durians daily since Jun. 19.

The giveaway is set to run until some time in August 2026.

Durian Ninja, located at Block 827 Tampines Street 81, started the daily giveaway for anyone who turns up to queue, according to Shin Min Daily News.

Stall owner Kee Eng Chai (transliteration), 25, told Shin Min the initiative was mainly aimed at getting more young people interested in durians.

"More than half of those queuing are elderly, but we are also seeing younger people joining the queue, which is exactly what we hoped to see," he said.

@perlim891213 1人Free 2pcs😉老板叫我无条件的回馈社会😍 827Tampines st81 #01-132 S520827 送600kg榴莲！每天都有😊 Free600 kg Durian！Hari2 Ada Every day FREE 600kg Durian🥰 把爱传下去！707与您同在🥰 Kita Bersama🥰 #durianninja #FREE #percuma #免费 ♬ All of Me - Toby Gad & Celina Sharma

No one left out

Co-owner Huang Bolin (transliteration), 37, said the stall wanted to give back to the community, adding that people of all ages go through tough times.

The giveaway originally started at 4pm on the first day, but has since been shifted to 6pm after transport delays held up delivery.

Kee told Shin Min:

"Two to three lorries deliver the durians each day, and the timing can vary. They also need time to unload after arriving, so we moved the start time to the evening to avoid making people wait too long."

800kg to 1,000kg of durians daily

The stall gives out between 800kg to 1,000kg of durians each day, mostly kampung varieties from Bentong in Pahang and Muar in Johor, according to Shin Min.

Kee said the peak durian season means there is enough supply for the giveaway through August.

Videos online showed queues forming one to two hours before the start of the giveaway.

Each person was initially allowed to take three durians, but the limit was later reduced to two to ensure there is enough for everyone.

Some were seen holding plastic bags provided by the stall while standing next to baskets of durians.

Mothership has reached out to Durian Ninja for more information.

@perlim891213 827 Tampines St81 #01 ♬ 原声 - Berlin林

After a video of a man riding a HelloRide bicycle along a canal made its rounds online, the bike-sharing service clarified that he was a staff member retrieving the bicycle.

In the early morning on Jun. 23, HelloRide received a report from a member of the public that one of their shared bicycles was in a canal near 139 Lorong K Telok Kurau, the CEO of HelloRide Singapore Hayden Choo said in response to Mothership's queries.

The company confirmed the bicycle's location via the GPS tracking system and then arranged for an operations team member to recover it.

They also filed a police report in the hopes of determining the culprit.

Video

The sight of the team member riding the bicycle inside the canal drew some attention.

The user who posted the TikTok video of the incident on Jun. 23 had thought the man was trying to cycle to the sea and was taking a shortcut through the canal.

Towards the end of the video, the man got off the bike and pushed it up the slope out of the canal.

HelloRide explained in the comments that a bike was reported in the canal, and their team headed down to retrieve it.

@keanmonomaybe he knows a shortcut♬ original sound - keanmono

Retrieval

The team member was sent to the canal equipped with recovery equipment, including a rope and retrieval hook, Choo said.

Initially, he was unable to recover the bicycle using these equipment as the bicycle was located some distance from the canal bank.

But it was eventually recovered safely and removed from the canal the same day HelloRide received the report.

The bicycle was later inspected by the operations team and found to have no damage. It has since been returned to service.

Choo said that incidents of this nature are "extremely uncommon" for the company.

"We will continue working to ensure our bicycles remain properly accounted for and available for users," he added.

The Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) has issued a rare "red" alert, its highest risk rating, in its annual Haze Outlook report.

In a Jun. 24 statement, it warned of severe transboundary haze across the rest of 2026, affecting Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

The report identified August to September as the "peak danger period".

The heightened risk is driven by a combination of factors, including the returning El Niño phenomenon and a surging demand for biofuels, said the research institute and think-tank.

The report evaluates haze risks by consulting governments, businesses, think-tanks, and non-governmental organisations.

Rare alert

This marks only the second time the SIIA has triggered a red alert since the annual report launched in 2019.

The last time the institute issued a red rating was in 2023, a year that ultimately saw a spike in regional haze incidents.

According to the report, the coming months could bring "one of the hottest and driest dry seasons on record", increasing the danger of land fires that could spread out of control.

The report also suggested that given the prevailing conditions, 2027 may end up being the hottest year on record.

Why so hot?

Historically, the most severe haze episodes have occurred when El Niño and a positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) overlapped, such as in 1997, 1998, 2015, and 2023.

The IOD is a climate pattern characterised by fluctuations in sea surface temperatures across the Indian Ocean.

El Niño conditions are under way as of this month, while the less-predictable IOD remains a possible compounding factor.

However, the report noted that either climate pattern alone can trigger severe haze, as seen during the IOD-driven dry spell in 2019.

Biofuel boom

Other factors, including human activity, may also affect the incidence of haze.

In January 2026, Singapore faced several weeks of hazy conditions following the spreading peat fire in Johor, Malaysia.

SIIA warned that in the months ahead, growing biofuel demand caused by disruptions at the Strait of Hormuz may increase incentives for unsustainable land clearing among some producers.

These pressures are expected to persist even if the Middle East conflict resolves.

Khor Yu-Leng, associate director of SIIA, explained:

"The fuel crisis is also driving demand for biofuels, with Southeast Asian countries increasing the percentage of vegetable oil in diesel at the pump.

This trend will continue even if the U.S.-Iran agreement holds, as countries now want energy independence."

ASEAN cooperation

Despite the forecasts, "we must not be fatalistic", said Simon Tay, chairman of SIIA.

Indonesia has strengthened its institutional response to forest and land fires, and businesses have expanded fire prevention measures in recent years.

The think-tank called for regional cooperation and sustainable land management to minimise risks and strengthen climate resilience.

“ASEAN needs to take greater ownership of this challenge as the region enters a potentially severe dry season and faces the longer-term impacts of climate change," he said.

"There is much that can be done to prevent the worst and strengthen climate resilience, energy and food security, and regional cooperation... Supporting solutions with adequate funding will be critical.”

A 31-year-old man died in an accident on the Tuas Second Link bridge on the morning of Jun. 22.

According to Shin Min Daily News, the fatal accident occurred at around 9am that Tuesday as the man, identified as cross-border commuter Sheng Baoyuan (transliteration), was riding his motorcycle into Singapore for work.

It was reportedly his first day at a new job.

Motorcycle believed to have skidded out of control

A friend of Sheng's sister, surnamed Ji, told Shin Min that Sheng had recently taken up a new job as a deliveryman and was on his way to work for the first time that day.

She said it was raining heavily at the time, and that his motorcycle is believed to have skidded out of control.

While a video provided by Ji did not capture the moment of the accident itself, it showed a lorry driving past, and two motorcycles were also seen lying on the road behind it.

Photos circulating online showed Sheng's motorcycle badly damaged, with parts strewn across the road.

Ji said an eyewitness had told the family that Sheng fell off his bike and was struck by a lorry, dying at the scene.

"We hope that more witnesses can come forward and tell us what happened," she said.

Initial findings

According to Shin Min, a statement from the Iskandar Puteri district police said Sheng was thrown from his motorcycle after hitting a vehicle, and was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

Separately, when Shin Min contacted the Malaysian police overseeing the investigation, they said preliminary findings indicated that Sheng had collided with a multi-purpose vehicle that had stopped in the middle lane due to traffic congestion, and was thrown under a lorry.

A second motorcyclist had also collided with Sheng's motorcycle, sustaining minor injuries.

The police said investigators believe Sheng was not run over by any vehicle.

He added that the lorry driver who was at the scene has been identified and asked to give a statement and assist with investigations.

He stressed that these were preliminary findings and the case remains under investigation, cautioning against drawing conclusions until it is finished.

Leaves behind a one-year-old son

Ji said Sheng used to commute to Singapore via Woodlands Checkpoint, but believed he had switched to Tuas Checkpoint after changing jobs, Shin Min reported.

She added that he leaves behind a son who is not yet two years old, and that his family was devastated by the sudden loss.

"He is the pillar of his family. I hope the investigations will reveal the truth," she said.

Sheng's wife also paid tribute to him on Facebook, describing him as a good husband who loved her and their son deeply.

Lorry company denies hit-and-run claim

Relatives of the deceased had alleged online that the lorry driver left the scene after checking on the situation, calling it a hit-and-run.

When Shin Min contacted the Malaysian transport company that owns the lorry involved, a company representative said the lorry had been travelling straight at the time and did not hit anyone.

"The driver did hear a noise coming from behind the vehicle and stopped to investigate. After determining that it was unrelated to the lorry, he continued on his way, so the incident does not constitute a hit-and-run," he said.

He added that the lorry driver is scheduled to give a statement at the police station on Jun. 25, and that the company will cooperate fully with investigations.

"The deceased's relatives and friends have also contacted me, and I've explained what happened to them. I'm not too clear on the specific details of what happened, but the police have said it has nothing to do with us, and we don't want to be wrongly accused," he said.

Thankful for his domestic helper's 12 years of service to his family and care for his three daughters, a 63-year-old Singaporean man brought his family to his domestic helper's hometown in the Philippines to visit her in June 2026.

Five years ago, the family's helper, 54-year-old Marilou Serrano Galindo, had returned to her hometown in Maddela, located in the Philippines' Quirino province, Shin Min Daily News reported.

Tan Teck Lee then brought his wife, three daughters and son-in-law to visit Marilou from Jun. 8 to Jun. 16, 2026.

They travelled for about 11 hours to visit her hometown, including a flight to Manila, another domestic flight, and a two-hour car ride before reaching their destination.

With family for 12 years

Speaking to Shin Min, Tan said Marilou had been with the family from 2009 to 2021, when his youngest daughter was only eight years old, and his eldest daughter was 16.

He credited Marilou with helping take great care of his three daughters. They have remained close.

"Although she returned to the Philippines in 2021, she has maintained contact with our family, especially my three daughters."

Philippines hometown

Tan added that he had previously brought his wife and two young daughters to visit Marilou's hometown in 2019 and made many fond memories there.

At the time, Marilou had invited Tan's family to go with her when she went home to visit her family.

"...[Her] family was very welcoming and took good care of us," Tan told Shin Min, adding that they "even came back to Singapore together later".

Shin Min reported that Marilou has a son and a daughter in the Philippines.

Tan said: "Marilou's daughter is very filial and hoped that her mother could come home to reunite with her family, take care of her grandchildren and enjoy her retirement.

"So she chose to return to her hometown in 2021."

Meaningful trip

He added that this trip in June 2026 was especially meaningful as his eldest daughter and son-in-law had accompanied him, Shin Min reported.

It was like a big family outing, Tan said, adding that Marilou's family took his family sightseeing every day, which they enjoyed.

"We went boating, enjoyed the scenery, ate local food, celebrated Marilou's birthday together, and took many photos, creating happy memories," he said.

On top of that, Shin Min reported that out of gratitude for the respect her employer had shown her, she allocated the only room in her house with air-conditioning for Tan's family to stay in.

Thankful that she had been treated like family while working for her employer, Marilou wanted to make their stay comfortable.

She specially installed a water heater, Shin Min reported, adding that she also prepared pillows,  cleaned the house, planned the itinerary and bought fresh ingredients as she wanted Tan's family to try her cooking.

Attended daughter's wedding

Shin Min reported that when Tan's eldest daughter got married in June 2025, Marilou flew to Singapore with her sister and brother-in-law to attend the wedding and spend a week on holiday.

At the time, Tan applied for leave to bring them around, according to Shin Min.

Following this, Marilou invited Tan and his family to visit her hometown and arrangements were made for the trip.

Favourite memory

Having known Marilou for over a decade, Tan told Mothership that his favourite memory of her is "how deeply connected she is to her family".

"After completing her daily chores, she would often sit down and video call her family on WhatsApp to catch up with them," he said.

Tan added: "Over time, I also got to know some of her family members and would occasionally join in to say hello.

"It is heartwarming to see the love and commitment she has for her family despite being far away from them."

Local actor Elvin Ng has been dealing with the aftermath of sandfly bites for four months, going through multiple rounds of treatment, including steroid injections, after creams and antihistamines failed to bring relief.

Ng shared on Instagram that he had just gone through another round of localised steroid injections on each bite spot to bring down inflammation and reduce scarring.

He wrote:

"So yes that's me going through another round of steroid injections to each sandfly bite infection/allergic reaction which has refused to go away since 4 months ago. It's actually not that painful (luckily there's ice) but I was just bracing myself for each shot and squeezing any life out of the plushie (luckily I have it) for destress purposes."

How it started

Ng said he had been at his usual suntanning spot at one of the Sentosa beaches, a place he had visited many times before, when the bites happened without him noticing.

He wrote:

"I learnt after that it is by the water between the wet and dry areas which are most likely to have sandflies and they can't even be seen by the naked eye."

The bites only became a problem about a month later, right around the time he was also dealing with an eye operation in late February during Chinese New Year.

He added:

"They started getting inflamed a month (delayed reaction) after I was at the beach suntanning, at about the same time I had to go for my eye operation which was the first few days of CNY in end Feb, so it has been a really tough start to the horse year with a bad eye and super itchy legs until now (and even after my eye has almost fully recovered)."

Why steroid creams didn't work

Ng visited a GP twice and was prescribed antihistamines and steroid creams, but neither made much of a difference. He eventually found that localised steroid injections directly on each bite were more effective, as the wounds had formed scabs that the creams could no longer penetrate.

He said it was his first time getting sandfly bites and that he was likely highly allergic to them.

"They became really inflamed and unbearable," he wrote.

His advice to others

Ng said he was sharing his experience to help others avoid going through the same ordeal, urging beachgoers to always apply insect repellent before heading to the beach, even just to suntan.

He continued:

"Hopefully this helps, and you won't need to go through the same kind of crazy itchiness (scratching till they bleed) I've been tolerating for months, and you can do better to protect yourself from this 'common enemy'."

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ELVIN NG 黄俊雄 (@elvinngchoonsiong)

The National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) and the Migrant Workers Centre (MWC) will be extending S$100 in cash and S$100 in NTUC vouchers to MWC members affected by unpaid wages.

Affected migrant workers can join as an MWC member to receive the cash and vouchers.

150 job vacancies from 40 construction firms are being offered to the affected workers.

Lodging, transport, and food for them are also being arranged.

This comes after over 100 migrant workers from KPA Engineering and SK Industries went down to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) services centre on Jun. 22 to seek help for unpaid wages and housing issues.

About 400 migrant workers were affected.

Visit

In a visit to the Tuas View Dormitory on the morning of Jun. 24, NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng and Ministry of State for Manpower Dinesh Vasu Dash spoke to migrant workers.

They also passed out lunch to the workers.

Speaking to the media, Ng said MOM and NTUC are working to help the migrant workers recover their salaries.

“I think the practice of abandoning the workers and not paying salaries is not something the NTUC will stand without acting upon it. Employers must be responsible, and I am glad that many employers have come forward to assist these migrant workers,” he said.

Ng added that the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) and its partners are working to contact the employers.

“I understand that they may not be in the country, and the due process will have to take place,” he concluded.

Dinesh also highlighted the experiences the migrant workers are facing as a result of this incident, citing that “some of them really do not have much money in their pockets at this point in time”.

He added that MOM would allow them to have interim special passes for “a couple of weeks until they are connected to a new job”.

“We take a very serious view of the employers who might have caused the migrant workers to be in this situation,” he said.

Workers

Some migrant workers spoke to the media during the visit.

Islam Md Raiful, a 20-year-old Bangladeshi national who has been staying in Singapore for six months, said he was owed more than S$2,400 over three months.

Every month, Islam sends about S$500 to his family in Bangladesh to cover his siblings' school fees and living expenses.

He said that as a result of the unpaid wages, he had to borrow money.

Islam has not told his family about this incident.

“This one’s a very critical situation for us (his family)”, he said.

When asked about the help provided, he expressed gratefulness and said it was “very helpful”.

Another migrant worker, Jayasankar Vinothkumar, a 41-year-old Indian national who has worked in Singapore for about 14 years, also spoke about the implications of the unpaid wages.

He joined KPA Engineering on Aug. 2, 2025 and stated that there were already prior issues with salary payouts.

Jayasankar said his eight-year-old daughter apparently stopped attending school as he was unable to pay for her school fees.

Jayasankar is the sole breadwinner of his family, and he is expecting another child.

The Malaysian woman who mocked locals in China for "smelling bad" in a viral video has been identified as a member of the Malaysian police force.

The Malaysian police has also opened a disciplinary investigation into the incident, Bernama reported.

This was shared on Jun. 23 by Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohd Khalid Ismail, who added that the woman will remain on active duty while the investigation is ongoing.

"Apart from disciplinary aspects, appropriate action will also be taken if any breach of the law is established," he said.

He also reminded all police officers and personnel to uphold proper conduct whether in Malaysia or abroad, and even when not in uniform.

Controversy

Nur Asyiqin binti Mohd Dalil, also a social media influencer, was travelling in China in the video in question, which has since been removed from her TikTok.

She was seen queueing with a few other Malaysian tourists while waiting to board a bus.

While some of them covered their noses, one could be heard saying in Malay, "It smells so bad! Did none of you shower?"

The remarks sparked outrage from both Malaysians and Chinese, with many Malaysians calling the group's behaviour embarrassing and disrespectful.

On Jun. 20, Asyiqin apologised in a statement on TikTok, saying she took full responsibility for her behaviour that has "caused discomfort to various parties".

She explained that it was a "spontaneous reaction" without any intention to offend or embarrass.

This apology came days after a previous statement she posted, one from her lawyers stating that she had taken legal action against those who made defamatory statements.

Asyiqin's lawyer also confirmed she was "part of the [police] force", but did not specify her rank, according to South China Morning Post.

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