A man was sentenced to 12 years and 11 months in prison for sexually assaulting a teen on at least 10 occasions between 2020 and 2023.

Each time, he would give the teen cash and/or cigarettes in return for the sexual acts.

When the assaults began in 2020, the man was about 60 years old, while the victim was 12.

Now 66, Abdul Rahim Sa’ad pleaded guilty on Jul. 17 to two charges of sexual assault by penetration, The Straits Times (ST) reported.

He also faced 14 other charges for similar offences against the same victim, and for taking explicit photos of the victim, that were taken into consideration for sentencing.

His prison sentence includes four months’ jail in lieu of caning, as being above 50 years old, he cannot be caned.

According to ST, Rahim uses a wheelchair as both his legs had been amputated below the knee.

The assaults

Rahim and the victim became acquainted sometime in April 2020, according to court documents seen by Mothership.

Rahim struck up a conversation with the victim as he was passing by on his way to visit a friend who stayed on the same floor as Rahim.

Rahim and the victim would also smoke cigarettes on occasion.

On Apr. 29, 2020, the victim visited Rahim and asked him for a cigarette. When Rahim asked the victim to show him his underwear and genitals, and to let Rahim take photos, the victim agreed.

Rahim gave him cash and a cigarette after taking the photos.

After that, the victim started occasionally requesting for cigarettes and cash from Rahim, who would provide them in exchange for sexual activities.

On at least two other occasions in 2020, the victim suggested going to a handicap toilet at a community centre, where Rahim would then perform sex acts on the victim.

Rahim bought a pack of cigarettes for the victim afterwards, and also gave him some cash after one of these instances.

The amount of cash provided was not stated in court documents except for one occasion in 2023, when Rahim gave S$50 to the victim.

Arrest

Rahim was arrested on Jan. 4, 2024, after the victim's niece lodged a police report, saying that she suspected Rahim of procuring sexual services from young boys in exchange for cigarettes.

He has been in remand since his arrest.

Sentencing

The prosecutors sought a sentence of 14 to 17 years in prison, and an additional five to six months in lieu of caning.

They described Rahim's offences as "abhorrent and repeated" over a prolonged period of close to three years.

In court, Rahim's lawyer asked for a jail term of not more than 11 years, ST reported.

He highlighted a list of medical conditions Rahim suffered, including heart failure, diabetes, and peripheral arterial disease — the last of which had cost him both legs.

A 22-year-old British man was convicted of assaulting a 66-year-old private-hire vehicle driver in Singapore.

The driver sustained fractures to his skull and died about a year after the incident on Jun. 14, 2025.

Oruche Morgan Fidelis pleaded guilty to an amended charge of using criminal force after pleading not guilty to the original charge of voluntarily causing grievous hurt on Jul. 15, Shin Min Daily News reported.

Beer

On Jun. 12, 2024, at about 5pm, Fidelis accompanied his boss and two clients to a bar.

He consumed three pints of beer.

Fidelis later met his girlfriend and other friends and had two pints of beer.

At about 10:30pm, he booked a private-hire vehicle at Asia Square to return home and boarded the vehicle.

When the vehicle arrived at Fidelis’ residence located at Sunset Way at about 10:58pm, the driver found him asleep in the backseat.

He then attempted to wake Fidelis up.

However, Fidelis was reportedly unhappy at being awakened and proceeded to shove the driver, causing him to fall and hit his head on the ground, resulting in a skull fracture.

The driver was conveyed to National University Hospital for emergency treatment.

Evidence

As the driver had passed away, the judge reportedly said the only objective evidence in this case was surveillance footage from a private residence across Fidelis’ place.

The footage revealed that after Fidelis woke up, he appeared to calmly remove his headphones before rushing towards the driver.

The judge noted that medical evidence confirmed the driver sustained a skull fracture, but could not ascertain if the fracture was caused by the fall from being pushed, punched or him tripping.

As the circumstances surrounding the injury were highly speculative, the prosecution could not "exclude all reasonable doubt" to prove Fidelis’ intent to cause serious bodily harm.

As such, Fidelis could not be convicted of voluntarily causing grievous hurt.

This resulted in the amendment of the original charge that Fidelis rushed and pushed the driver, causing him to sustain a skull fracture, to the amended charge of using criminal force, where Fidelis committed an aggressive act by raising his left hand at the driver.

Fidelis pleaded guilty to the amended charge.

The case was adjourned to Aug. 4 for sentencing.

A 61-year-old man in Thailand discovered the body of an unidentified woman in the back seat of his car on the morning of Jul. 16, after driving to work without realising she was there, The Thaiger reported.

The driver, identified only as Chanasin, runs a butcher's stall at Samrong Market in Samut Prakan.

He told police he had parked his black Nissan sedan outside his condominium in Soi Wat Dan the evening before, after closing up his stall for the day.

The car's locking mechanism was broken, he said, and had been unable to lock since.

He felt something touch his back

Chanasin said he noticed nothing out of the ordinary on the drive to the market the following morning.

It was only as he reached for a bag on the front passenger seat, shortly before arriving at his destination, that he felt something brush against his back.

Turning around, he saw what looked like a human foot.

Switching on the car's interior light confirmed it: a woman's body was in the back seat.

Chanasin immediately got out of the vehicle and alerted police, according to The Thaiger.

Body found near shrine entrance

Officers from Samrong Tai Police Station, along with forensic officers and rescuers from the Por Teck Tung Foundation, responded to the scene at the entrance of Chao Pho Thap Samrong Shrine, where Chanasin had parked.

They found the woman, believed to be aged between 60 and 70, seated in the back seat and leaning against it.

She was not carrying any identification documents, and an initial examination found no visible injuries or signs of assault.

Investigators believe she had been dead for several hours by the time she was found.

Driver denies any involvement

Chanasin, who police said appeared shocked while giving his statement, told investigators he had never met the woman and denied any involvement in her death.

He speculated that she may have climbed into his unlocked car while it was parked, possibly to shelter from the rain or to rest, and suggested she could have died from an underlying medical condition.

Police have sent the body to the Central Institute of Forensic Science for an autopsy to determine the cause of death. They have also collected evidence, including fingerprints, in an effort to identify the woman and establish the circumstances surrounding her death.

The 25-year-old Singaporean man arrested for allegedly strangling his girlfriend to death in Bali has been identified, and will be charged with murder, according to 8world.

Bali Provincial Police public relations chief Senior Commissioner Ariasandy confirmed with 8world that the suspect is Muhammad Zulhelmi, a Singaporean Malay man.

It was previously reported that he was 26 years old.

As previously reported, he was arrested on the night of Jul. 15 after the body of his girlfriend was discovered at a rental house in South Denpasar.

Victim identified

The victim has been identified as Angelica Suherman, 26, according to 8world.

A forensic examination confirmed she died from asphyxiation caused by blunt external force to the neck, with injuries consistent with strangulation.

The forensic report also found bruising on her face, bleeding in the neck tissue and a fractured hyoid bone, all consistent with violent neck trauma.

The estimated duration she was dead was three to five days before the body was discovered.

What happened

According to 8world, police investigations revealed that the suspect and victim had argued after he proposed ending their relationship.

He allegedly used both hands to strangle her for around 10 to 15 minutes until she lost consciousness and died.

After the killing, he moved her body to another room and covered it with a carpet and stuffed toys before leaving the scene for a few days.

Charges

Zulhelmi faces two charges: Causing grievous bodily harm resulting in death, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years; and/or murder which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years.

Ariasandy told 8world that police have completed witness statements and forensic investigations, and submitted the case notification to the Denpasar prosecutor's office on Jul. 17, formally initiating the judicial process.

Overstayed visa

According to Indonesian immigration records cited by 8world, Zulhelmi last entered Indonesia on Oct. 23, 2024, under a visa-free entry arrangement.

He has been overstaying.

Denpasar police have coordinated with Indonesian immigration authorities and the Singapore embassy in Indonesia on the case, given that it involves a foreign national.

Two Bangladeshi men in Singapore were repatriated and had their work permits revoked after making extremist posts on social media.

Tayani Md Risad, 25, and Islam Sahedul, 37, were separately investigated by the Internal Security Department (ISD) in July 2026, The Strait Times reported.

Neither man is connected to any previous cases concerning self-radicalised individuals who were dealt with under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

Views

According to an ISD spokeswoman, Risad reportedly expressed support for Shafiur Rahman Farabi, a Bangladeshi national who is a radical Islamist blogger and writer.

Farabi incited violence against atheist and secular bloggers.

He is also allegedly linked to the fundamentalist Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir, which the Bangladeshi government banned.

Meanwhile, Sahedul reportedly made inflammatory posts on the Israel-Iran conflict.

He also posted divisive religious views and referred to Muslims who do not want to be governed under Islamic law as infidels

No indication

ISD found no indication of intention of terrorist attacks or terrorist activities in Singapore from the men.

“However, their extremist and divisive views are inimical to Singapore’s multiracial and multi-religious society,” the ISD spokeswoman said.

It was unclear what work the pair were doing in Singapore.

Remittance warriors

Both men were detained and handed over to immigration authorities after arriving at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Bangladesh on Jul. 8, The Business Standard reported.

Bangladeshi media reported that the authorities there seized three phones and three passports from the pair.

During their hearing in court in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Risad claimed he was detained in Singapore over Facebook posts made in 2023 on Farabi.

He claims Farabi was a leader of Hefazat-e-Islam in Bangladesh, who had previously been jailed and was later released.

The judge granted the accused a three-day remand and questioned their involvement.

The judge reportedly said: “You are remittance warriors. Why did you need to get involved in these matters?”

"Remittance warriors" is a term for migrant workers who leave their home countries to take on labour-intensive jobs overseas to remit money back to their families.

The accused were unrepresented.

As there were no delays exceeding 30 minutes on the MRT lines since November 2025, this is the longest period without such a delay since the Land Transport Authority (LTA) started tracking this statistic in 2011.

This excludes the Thomson-East Coast Line, LTA noted.

Rail reliability

These findings were part of LTA's July 2026 Rail Reliability figures on its website.

The reliability of the MRT network is measured by Mean Kilometres Between Failure (MKBF).

This refers to the average distance that a train travels before it encounters a delay of more than five minutes.

LTA noted that June 2026 marks the third consecutive month that the overall MKBF has exceeded 2 million train-km, at 2.50 million train-km.

Individually, all MRT Lines' MKBF remain above 1 million train-km, including the oldest North-South and East-West Lines.

According to LTA's latest figures for July 2026, there were two delays in August 2025 and September 2025 each that lasted more than 30 minutes.

However, train service delivery and train punctuality for the MRT network remained at above 99 per cent in June 2026.

Sustained effort, dedication

"Our high MKBF levels over the last three months are a reflection of the sustained effort and dedication from our transport workers and rail operators to uplift reliability and improve their response to faults and incidents," said LTA.

"It also reflects the impact of the recommendations made by the Rail Reliability Taskforce in February 2026, which SMRT and SBST are now working closely with the LTA to implement," it added.

LTA said it had also updated the provisional Circle Line MKBF figures for May 2026 to include a delay on the Circle Line on May 16 that had exceeded five minutes, after the conclusion of investigations.

As such, the Circle Line MKBF for May 2026 was updated to 2.37 million train-km, and the MRT network MKBF for May 2026 was updated to 2.35 million train-km.

As stated within the report, reported figures are subject to adjustment pending ongoing incident investigations.

Despite the adjustment, overall MKBF performance in May 2026 improved over April 2026, said LTA.

Holes were apparently discovered in the walls of the temporary female bathrooms at Block 563 Choa Chu Kang Street 52.

As the block of flats in Yew Tee was part of the Housing and Development Board's (HDB) Home Improvement Programme (HIP), temporary communal shower and toilet cubicles have been set up on the block's ground floor for residents to use.

The discovery of the alleged holes was shared on Facebook on Jul. 10 by a user, Ezan, who claimed that a family member saw a hole in the cubicle.

In his post, Ezan also claimed that the holes had been deliberately made to peep into the bathroom.

The post was shared in the Friends of Yew Tee Facebook group.

Speaking to Mothership, Ezan clarified that his tenant, a 33-year-old engineer who requested to be identified only as Ms S, was the one that had made the discovery.

However, both his mum and helper were also at the scene at the time of the incident.

According to Ms S, the alleged incident happened on Jul. 8 at around 9pm.

The holes

Photos shared by Ezan appeared to show multiple small holes in one of the bathroom cubicles.

These included what appeared to be holes beside the shower and above the toilet bowl.

Ms S told Mothership that she eventually found around 10 holes across three temporary female toilets.

After examining the area, Ezan added that he was surprised by the "vast difference" between the temporary female and male toilets.

While the female toilets allegedly had around 10 holes, he said the male toilets were hole-free and "in perfect condition".

However, Mothership understands that both the male and female bathroom walls have holes that have been patched.

Alleged peeping incident

Speaking to Mothership, Ms S shared that she was about to take a shower in a temporary female bathroom at around 9pm on Jul. 8.

Ezan's mother and helper had also gone downstairs to take a shower, as his unit was undergoing renovation as part of the HIP.

As Ms S put down her belongings in preparation for a shower, she noticed a hole in the wall panel.

"I saw something 'blink, blink'... like something was moving," she said.

Ms S said she could make out something black through the hole.

At first, she tried to rationalise it, thinking that perhaps a worker had forgotten to seal or cover the hole.

However, she could not shake the feeling that something was amiss.

As she was leaving the temporary toilet, she heard a noise coming from the area behind the wall panel.

She later discovered that a locked storage area was located behind the temporary female toilets.

Access to the area required a PIN code.

Ms S believed that the noise had come from someone locking the storage area.

She then went to check the locked storage area outside the toilet, but did not see anyone inside when she looked through a small gap.

When she returned to the toilet, Ms S noticed that the hole had apparently turned white for some reason.

Ms S alleged that the holes seemed to purposely target women's private areas.

"One at the bottom part, one at the top part," she said.

Ms S also said one of the holes was positioned at eye level, which she believed would allow someone standing behind the wall to look directly into the toilet cubicle.

Demanded to see storage area

Ezan shared that he was home at the time of the incident, but that his helper went up to inform him of what happened.

He then joined Ms S at the ground floor.

Ms S contacted the site management, who eventually opened the locked storage area after she "made noise".

After entering the storage area, Ms S began inspecting the wall panels separating it from the temporary female toilets.

"Oh my god, my blood started [to] boil," Ms S told Mothership.

She said she found what appeared to be white masking tape covering the holes.

It was also then that she realised the wall panels did not have just one hole, but around 10 or more across three toilet cubicles.

Who could it be?

Ms S questioned who last accessed the storage area and also had access to the lock.

Ezan and Ms S emphasised that they did not believe the alleged culprit was one of the foreign workers carrying out works in the area.

They said this in response to comments online that were putting the blame on foreign workers.

According to Ezan and Ms S, the workers typically left the site between 6pm to 7pm to return to their dormitories.

The incident had happened later at night, and they suspected it was someone who had access to the lock.

At the time, there was no CCTV camera monitoring the enclosed area, making it impossible to fully verify whether anyone had been there.

Action taken: HDB

An HDB spokesperson told Mothership that they are aware of the feedback regarding alleged holes in the wall of a temporary toilet cubicle at Block 563 Choa Chu Kang Street 52.

They added that upon receiving the feedback on the night of Jul. 8, a HIP contractor carried out a joint inspection of the toilet cubicle.

During the inspection, the alleged holes were found to have already been patched with silicone sealant.

The HDB spokesperson explained that such holes may be left behind when fittings such as clothes hangers are replaced:

Fittings such as clothes hangers, shower heads and grab bars are installed in all temporary toilets in HIP precincts. These fittings are replaced when they are damaged, and contractors are required to seal up any holes in the wall which resulted from these replacement works immediately. Daily checks are conducted on all toilets.

In this particular case, the contractor’s inspection on Jul. 8 afternoon – prior to the resident’s feedback in the evening – confirmed that all holes had been sealed. In addition, the rear of the temporary toilets is enclosed and kept locked at all times, preventing public access to the area.

The spokesperson added that an aluminium plate had been installed behind the toilet's wall panel to minimise the risk of tampering, and that a CCTV camera had also been installed to monitor access to the enclosed area behind the temporary toilets.

The Tower Transit bus captain who was filmed by a passenger who confronted him for allegedly driving too slowly has made a police report.

The National Transport Workers' Union (NTWU) said in a Facebook post on Jul. 17 that it accompanied the bus captain, who is a union member, to the police station.

"NTWU has zero tolerance for any form of harassment, intimidation or abuse against public transport workers," they wrote.

What happened

A TikTok user had posted a video of himself confronting the bus driver on Jul. 6.

"Driving at your own pace? You following your own timing or what? We have our timing [to meet]," the passenger can be heard saying in the video.

In response, the bus driver said he was following the standard operating procedure (SOP). However, the passenger disputed it.

Many netizens sided with the bus driver instead, criticising the passenger for harassing him while he was on duty.

Both the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Tower Transit Singapore later also commended the driver for remaining calm and professional throughout the incident, which took place on Service 984.

In a Facebook post on Jul. 15, Tower Transit Singapore said it had reviewed the trip details and found that the driver had been operating the service in accordance with the planned schedule.

Singapore's Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon will be retiring on Feb. 26, 2027, after more than 14 years of service.

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a media release on Jul. 17 that Justice Sushil Sukumaran Nair, Justice of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court, has been appointed as the 5th Chief Justice of Singapore with effect from Feb. 26, 2027.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said: “Chief Justice Menon has served Singapore with distinction over the past 14 years. Under his leadership, our Judiciary has earned the confidence of Singaporeans and the respect of the international legal community.

PM Wong also thanked the justice for his "exceptional service" and said that he is confident Justice Sushil Nair will build on these strong foundations and continue to uphold the excellence, integrity and independence of the judiciary.

The chief justice of Singapore presides over the judiciary – a system of courts that upholds the law and ensures justice is accessible to all.

Led Singapore through period of significant transformation

Chief Justice Menon was appointed to his role on Nov. 6, 2012.

Since then, he has led the Singapore Judiciary through a "period of significant transformation", PMO said.

"The Judiciary strengthened its institutional foundations, modernised the administration of justice, improved access to justice, and reinforced public confidence in the rule of law," it said.

He oversaw major reforms to strengthen the Courts’ capabilities, including leading its digital transformation and establishing the Appellate Division of the High Court.

He also said to have played a key role in developing the Singapore International Commercial Court and its International Committee.

In addition, the Family Justice Courts and the Youth Courts embraced a "therapeutic justice approach" under Chief Justice Menon’s leadership, which transformed the way family and youth cases are heard and resolved, PMO stated.

Justice Sushil Nair

Justice Sushil Nair joined the Bench as Judicial Commissioner on Apr. 1, 2025.

He was subsequently appointed a High Court Judge, and later a Justice of the Court of Appeal on Jun. 15, 2026.

Before joining the Judiciary, he had served as Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Drew & Napier LLC, and Head of its Corporate Restructuring and Workouts practice group, with a legal career spanning 35 years.

Justice Nair has also made significant contributions in public service, PMO said, highlighting the Friends of Ministry of Culture, Community & Youth (MCCY) Award he received in 2022 for his role in the team that negotiated the takeover of the Singapore Sports Hub by Sport Singapore.

In 2023, he was also awarded Singapore’s Public Service Star (Covid-19) for his contributions to the conceptualisation of Singapore's COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Bill.

For social media platforms or services that are not willing or are unable to make their products sufficiently child-safe, banning them might be better, despite bans not being the "starting point", Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo said.

She was sharing her takeaways from the panel discussions at a forum, titled "Fostering Child-Safe Digital Environments on Social Media", on Jul. 17.

Held at National University of Singapore Society's Kent Ridge Guild House, the forum was organised by the Ministry of Digital Development and Information and the Institute of Policy Studies.

It saw researchers, industry stakeholders, policymakers and youths discuss approaches to protect children from some of the dangers of social media, such as online harms and addiction.

Banning possible if platforms unable to meet child-safe standards

Reflecting on her takeaways from the forum, Teo said she observed "strong support" for government intervention.

However, Teo said that the need to think about the "right forms" of such intervention was also surfaced.

"There is a question of whether child safety has to meet certain standards, and if those standards are not met, whether as a society we support the government saying that the access should no longer be made available to a young person. For example, those under 18," the minister said.

"While we are not averse... for us to block access to under-18s, that is not the starting point. That is not the preferred outcome," she observed.

What the government is working towards is to work with social media platforms and providers to create services that have safety features built in "to the extent that our society finds acceptable and desirable".

She characterised this as a "collaborative" while also "determined" approach.

"It's potentially a differentiated landscape where some services, some platforms, have made it possible for child-safe access, and they continue to offer access to those under 18," she explained.

However, Teo noted that there may be some services that have "not been willing or able to do it".

"Then, as a society, we think that it is probably better to block access for under-18s to these kinds of services," Teo said.

Preparedness more important in the long-term: Teo

Teo also commented that in today's world, there is no separation between the online and offline world.

"What then do we do in terms of helping children navigate the online world, and in particular their activities on social media?" Teo asked.

One recurring point raised during the panel discussions was that social media has a developmental role in children's lives.

Ben Chua, who leads youth-based not-for-profit YouthTech SG and was a panellist at the forum, pointed out how "shared internet culture is how [youths] connect, joke, learn and form a generational identity."

While parents may want to protect their children, Teo said that there must also be a "preparedness" mindset.

She explained, "If we want our children to thrive in any environment, protecting them from harm is only part of it. Preparing them to deal with the realities of that environment is equally, if not more important, on a longer-term basis."

"And so, from this perspective, we propose the idea of tiered access," she continued, which she said she observed "strong" support for during the panel discussions.

Policy in Australia and New Zealand

Present at the forum were also officials from Australia's and New Zealand's online safety agencies.

Australia's social media ban for children under 16, which took effect on Dec. 10, 2025, was the first of its kind globally.

Children under 16 cannot set up new accounts, and existing profiles were deactivated, BBC reported. 

New Zealand's lawmakers have also mooted a similar social media ban for under-16s, while the UK has imposed similar restrictions.

Sharing during a panel discussion, Sarah Fox, acting executive manager at Australia's eSafety Commissioner, noted that Australia's social media regulation was not a blanket ban, but a "delay" in access to social media.

When asked by a member of the audience about lessons from Australia's experience so far, Fox said that there is no silver bullet and that the "ban" is just "one tool in a broader toolkit".

"Meaningful implementation" in Singapore

Since April 2026, the Infocomm Media Development Authority has required app stores to screen for under-18 users and prevent them from downloading age-inappropriate apps.

Singapore's Online Safety Commission began operations on Jun. 29, 2026, giving victims of online harms a go-to agency to seek recourse.

In January, Sembawang GRC Member of Parliament Vikram Nair asked in Parliament about the possibility of an under-16 social media ban being implemented in Singapore.

Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Rahayu Mahzam responded that the Singapore government was "actively engaging our Australian counterparts and assessing the effectiveness of the measures in Australia".

Rahayu added that while a ban sounds like an "attractive" and "obvious" solution, the Singapore government wants to ensure "meaningful implementation".

She also noted implementation challenges experienced by Australia's regulators, such as the migration of under-16 users to social media platforms outside of the regulatory ambit.