A 78-year-old retired taxi driver in Singapore has been voluntarily sweeping up dead leaves at an open-air car park in Ang Mo Kio for free over the past eight years.

Lianhe Zaobao reported that Chen Jinhe (transliteration) does this daily.

Two hours each day sweeping

He told Zaobao that he spends more than two hours each day sweeping the car park near Block 533 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5, collecting the leaves in cardboard boxes placed under the trees.

He initially started by cleaning the senior citizens' corner at the void deck, but later expanded his duties to the nearby car park after he noticed that it was covered in fallen leaves.

The dead leaves on the dirty ground irked him.

Why he does it

Chen claimed that he enjoys the freedom of his daily routine, having no boss to answer to.

He can choose to sweep whenever he wants, which he told Zaobao was convenient for him as he is only responsible for picking up his grandson.

Taxi driver for 35 years

A former taxi driver, Chen drove a yellow-top cab for 35 years and retired in 2015.

Unlike traditional taxi operators which lease taxis to cabbies, yellow-top cabs were privately owned by drivers.

Chen found the retirement life to be comparatively idle after 35 years on the road.

Street sweeping became an indispensable part of his day.

Trims his own broom

Chen even has preferences for the brooms that he uses, claiming that he has to trim the bristles to the right length and ensuring that they are sufficiently firm.

He purportedly sees it as a good form of activity and exercise, joking that it helped him lose weight and trim his belly.

His family was worried about his exposure to the elements, especially after his skin became increasingly tanned due to time spent under the sun.

Though they warned him that sun exposure could cause skin cancer, he resolutely stuck to his routine, saying that it was healthy for him to do so.

Good deeds, good rewards

Chen's volunteerism did not go unnoticed.

His deeds caught the attention of Ang Mo Kio MP Nadia Ahmad Samdin, who occasionally spots him at the car park and thanks him for his tireless work.

In 2021, he received a community award at the Long Service and Community Awards ceremony in recognition of his contributions.

He told Zaobao, "As long as my health allows it, I will keep on sweeping."

A woman in her sixties who passed away in 2023 was reportedly subjected to alleged pyramid scheme activities and invested S$50,000 after a trip to Nanning, Guangxi, China.

Her son, Zhang (not his real name), 30, is apparently attempting to recover the money invested, Shin Min Daily News reported.

Trip

Zhang told Shin Min that his mother attended gatherings at a recreational club in Singapore.

She apparently met a man who claimed there was an investment opportunity in Nanning and invited her on a five-day trip there.

The man reportedly said that the Chinese government planned to turn Nanning into a developed city with skyscrapers and called it “China’s Southeast Asia”.

The man apparently told her that other trip expenses would be covered and that she would only need to pay for airfare.

Zhang said his mother was interested and decided to go on the trip in 2019.

He also accompanied her.

“We were taken to visit various projects and look at different real estate properties. Every day was packed with activities, and there was a constant barrage of information, leaving you no room to think." Zhang said.

The pair reportedly stayed in a luxury apartment rented by Singaporeans.

During the trip, at least seven Singaporeans apparently gave lectures and shared their experiences regarding the pyramid scheme.

They also purportedly said that if the scheme failed, they would refund them.

Invest

On the last day of the trip, the woman decided to invest S$50,000 into the scheme.

There was apparently a “next of kin” system where, if the investor passed away, their next of kin could inherit the money and continue participating in the scheme.

“My mother believed them without question.” Zhang said.

Zhang claimed that she was usually cautious with money, and he apparently attempted to dissuade her.

However, she was reportedly insistent and became angry with him.

“In the end I gave in and accompanied her to a local bank to make the transfer," Zhang said.

Zhang added that an operator from Shanghai, China, also asked her to recruit others to join the scheme for profit.

However, she could not convince anyone and made no profit.

Passing

After the woman passed, Zhang apparently attempted to recover the money invested.

He purportedly contacted the operator, who sent him a receipt reportedly saying it was enough to prove the woman was a participant in the scheme and that the money was not missing.

However, the operator refused to refund the money.

Zhang said he plans to contact the bank to trace the woman’s transaction history.

Club

The head of the recreation club told Shin Min she received no reports of members being involved in the pyramid scheme.

Lin also said the club only serves as a platform for senior citizens to get together and prohibits any marketing-related activities.

Pyramid scheme

This follows reports of pyramid scheme activities occurring in China.

On Sep. 4, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said that 52 Singaporeans were arrested and detained in Guangxi, following a law enforcement operation against suspected pyramid scheme activities and related offences.

https://mothership.sg/2026/09/singaporeans-arrested-china-pyramid-scheme

Zhang also claimed the trip was “just like in the news”.

He hopes to share his experiences to warn other senior citizens to be vigilant.

A 48-year-old man in Singapore was diagnosed with late stage nose cancer in 2018 and was told he only had 30 days to live.

However, after 37 rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, he has beaten the odds and is running a noodle stall with his wife.

Chen Yongseng was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma in 2018.

He now runs Xiao Wen Ban Mian at Block 504 Yishun Street 51.

He previously worked as a maintenance worker in a factory for eight years before his cancer diagnosis.

He told Shin Min Daily News that his sister and mother passed away in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

He said the doctor told him that his grief may have triggered his cancer.

Weight dropped drastically

In June 2018, his weight dropped suddenly and his waistline shrunk from 30 inches to 26 inches.

He went for a medical check-up and received an unusually quick notification the next day: He was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

He said: "The doctor also told me some bad news: I only had about 30 days left to live."

Went for treatment alone

Chen did not tell his family about his illness so as to not make them worry for him.

He faced the harsh treatment alone by taking the train to the hospital to undergo 37 sessions of the intensive treatment.

By the 20th day, he was in so much pain that he could not eat or walk, and needed to be intubated, he said.

But he also said he woke up at 4am to sell tofu pudding while undergoing treatment.

Chen encouraged himself at the time that he has to live on for his father and he must not lose the fight before it even started.

Against the odds, his cancer went into remission after two years of treatment and recovery.

However, he had to endure the after-effects of the treatment.

He is stretching and taking medication daily now, and even borrowed money to open a stall to sell noodles for a living.

Wife chose to be by his side

Even though Chen was diagnosed with cancer, he got married.

He met his wife, Awen, who is Vietnamese, when he was in Vietnam in 2016.

He met her at a roadside food stall.

They maintained a long-distance relationship online for two years.

When Chen revealed that he had cancer, his partner's mother advised her daughter to travel to Singapore.

The future mother-in-law learned that Chen had lost his mother and sister at the time, and prompted her daughter to take care of him and his 90-year-old father.

Chen had a 40 per cent to 60 per cent chance of making a recovery at that point.

Despite that, Awen and Chen registered for marriage on Aug. 3, 2018.

When Chen and Awen solemnised their marriage, he told her she could give up if she regretted it.

But she did not look back.

His wife said: "I am very happy to see him recover."

Opened a stall to make a living

Chen revealed that employers were reluctant to hire him owing to his health.

His wife was the one who taught him how to make noodles.

Chen took out a bank loan and started the noodles stall with his wife.

As there are no subsidies for setting up a stall in a coffee shop, Chen said his monthly rental is S$6,000 and his daily revenue is slightly more than S$300.

He has been operating at a loss for the last two months after he started the stall.

He said he and his wife will take turns to man the stall when the assistant has to take leave at the last minute.

He added that his biggest wish is to move into a hawker centre and ease some of the financial burden with subsidies.

A 15-year-old girl ran to a neighbourhood police centre to file a police report after she was raped by her father.

Her father later went looking for her and spotted her inside the police station, prompting him to realise that she had reported the assault.

He then returned home to change into a pair of jeans before walking back to the police station and surrendering to the authorities.

The 51-year-old man pleaded guilty on Sep. 7 to one charge of rape, one charge of outrage of modesty and one unrelated charge of criminal breach of trust (CBT), according to a report by The Straits Times.

Two other CBT charges and a charge of voyeurism involving photographs he took of the victim's chest will be taken into consideration for sentencing.

Sentencing has been adjourned to Nov. 2.

Abuse began when victim was young

According to court documents seen by Mothership, the victim had lived in the same household as the man since she was five years old.

As she was growing up, her father often got angry at her.

He would scold her and use physical violence on her, including hitting her with a clothes hanger and caning her multiple times over what was described as slight infractions.

The girl was afraid of his temper and believed that such violence from her father was normal.

On the night of Aug. 10, 2024, the man confronted her over the cleanliness of their home.

He became enraged, swept the items on the dining table onto the floor, and told her to go to her room.

He subsequently dismantled the CCTV cameras in the flat before going to bed.

The following morning, the man went to the victim's room to wake her.

When she did not respond, he lifted one end of the blanket covering her and molested and raped her.

The girl was shocked but did not react as she feared that doing so would anger him.

Victim ran to the police station

After the assault, the man went to shower.

The victim then ran to Choa Chu Kang neighbourhood police centre and reported the incident.

When the man realised that she was no longer in the flat, he went looking for her.

He walked past the police centre and saw the girl sitting inside.

He then returned home, changed into jeans and walked back to the police centre, where he surrendered.

He was arrested and taken into custody on Aug. 11, 2024, and has remained in custody since.

Man also embezzled money

The man's CBT charges relate to S$23,000 he misappropriated from his employer between January and June 2023, when he was the company's general manager.

The money had been intended for his employer in connection with event installation works.

The misappropriation came to light following his arrest over the sexual offences in August 2024.

According to ST, the man also has previous convictions for offences including cheating and CBT.

In 2009, he was sentenced to five years of corrective training for moneylending.

The prosecution sought a jail term of between 13 years and eight months and 14 years and nine months, as well as an additional 18 to 24 weeks' imprisonment in lieu of nine to 11 strokes of the cane.

The man cannot be caned because he is above 50 years old.

His lawyer asked the court to impose a sentence of 13 years and five months' jail.

An employee of West Coast Town Council's management agency was charged on Sep. 7 for allegedly taking a S$50,000 bribe from a maintenance firm director.

Ng Yin Hong, a 56-year-old Singaporean, was a senior project manager at EM Services at the time of the supposed offences, according to a press release by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).

EM Services is a joint venture between the Housing & Development Board (HDB) and Keppel Land.

In response to Mothership's queries, EM Services said his employment with the company ceased in 2024.

Advancing business interests

In February 2023, Yin Hong allegedly took a S$50,000 bribe from Ng Choon Mong, the director of Atlas Maintenance at the time.

Choon Mong, who was also charged for corruption on Sep. 7, allegedly wanted to advance his firm's business interests in a repairs and redecoration contract with West Coast Town Council.

Besides the corruption charge, Yin Hong was also handed a second charge for using the money he got from the bribe.

He allegedly used S$12,500 of it on family expenses between February and April 2023.

He did not indicate how he would plead, and will have his case heard at court again on Oct. 5.

Choon Mong indicated he would plead not guilty, and will have a pre-trial conference on Oct. 19.

Another case

Last month, another EM Services employee linked to a town council contract was charged for taking bribes.

On Aug. 21, a 63-year-old former senior project manager at EM Services was charged for allegedly taking a total of S$220,000 in bribes separately from the directors of three companies.

They were given as an inducement for proposed contracts with Holland-Bukit Panjang, Sembawang, and Sengkang Town Council.

A retired army officer with the title of Datuk allegedly molested a female golf caddie in Melaka on Aug. 25.

Sin Chew Daily reported that Yahya Hashim, 68, was charged with the use of criminal force with intent to outrage the modesty of the 20-year-old caddie on Sep. 4.

According to Malay Mail, the incident took place at the Tiara Melaka Golf & Country Club in Ayer Keroh.

Yahya pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The deputy public prosecutor proposed that RM5,000 (S$1,565) bail be posted, provided that the accused does not harass the victim. 

In response, Yahya's lawyer, requested that the court reduce the bail amount as the defendant was retired and had no fixed income.

The lawyer also pointed out that Yahya lived with his wife and needed to treat a prostate-related condition.

The magistrate ultimately granted bail of RM2,500 (S$782), under the condition that Yahya not harass the victim before the case has reached a verdict.

Under Malaysian law, he could be jailed for up to 10 years, punished with a fine, be caned, or receive any two of these penalties.

The Datuk honorific is a Malaysian federal title conferred upon individuals of great distinction.

A 39-year-old woman accused of embezzling more than S$1.7 million from a businessman in his 70s has claimed that she was in a long-term relationship with him and that the money was given to her voluntarily before his death.

According to Lianhe Zaobao, Zhou Yansong (transliteration), who ran the seafood wholesale business Evergreen Seafood, passed away in September 2024 at the age of 73.

His daughter, Zhou Wenfeng, who is the executor of his estate, has sued the woman, Sun Beibei, for breach of fiduciary duty and is seeking to recover S$1,711,000.

The case went to trial in August and is ongoing.

Sun, who is from Qingdao, China, claimed that she was Zhou's girlfriend and that the pair had been in a relationship for 10 years.

Worked at a maid agency before going to Zhou's company

According to the plaintiff's case, Sun came to Singapore in 2012 and worked at a maid agency, Zaobao reported.

She met Zhou while he was looking for a domestic helper.

The following year, Sun began working part-time at Zhou's company before becoming a full-time employee, where she handled marketing and administrative duties.

She subsequently became one of Zhou's most trusted associates and the two were frequently seen together.

Sun was later appointed a director of the company, though she was not given any shares and was not authorised to sign on the company's bank accounts.

Zhou was diagnosed with cancer

According to Zaobao, in December 2022, Zhou was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer.

His condition deteriorated over the following year.

By May 2024, the cancer had spread to his pancreas and lungs, and doctors told him that he had less than six months to live, according to court documents.

By then, Zhou was described as very weak. He could barely speak, was unable to write, and had difficulty walking on his own.

He was admitted to Mount Elizabeth Hospital in August 2024 and remained there until his death.

The plaintiff alleged that about two months before Zhou died, Sun began keeping his mobile phone and wallet, which contained two debit cards, for him.

Knowing how much Zhou trusted Sun, his family also trusted her to remain by his side and care for him.

However, the plaintiff alleged that between June and September 2024, while Zhou was seriously ill, Sun withdrew and transferred money from his bank accounts without his authorisation.

More than S$1.7 million withdrawn

According to the plaintiff's case, Sun used bank drafts and several blank cheques that Zhou had signed in advance to withdraw a total of S$1.625 million from two of his bank accounts, Zaobao reported.

She is also accused of using two bank cards to make cash withdrawals totalling S$86,000 between Aug. 12 and Sep. 5, 2024.

The plaintiff alleged that Sun went to Paragon Shopping Centre almost every day, which is opposite the hospital, to make the withdrawals.

On each occasion, the amount withdrawn was close to or reached the daily withdrawal limit, the court heard.

In total, she allegedly withdrew another S$86,000.

The two accounts had originally contained more than S$1 million in savings.

However, on the day before Zhou's death, only slightly more than S$10,000 remained, according to the plaintiff's case.

In his opening statement, the plaintiff's lawyer said Zhou had depended heavily on Sun during the final months of his life and that she had betrayed the trust him and his family had placed in her.

The lawyer argued that Zhou extremely weak at the time and could not possibly have left the hospital to make the withdrawals.

There was also no reason for him to use such a large amounts of cash, the lawyer added.

The plaintiff's lawyer also pointed to a will Zhou made while in hospital, in which he left his bank savings to his wife and daughter.

As such, the lawyer argued, it was unlikely that he had intended to give the money to Sun, as the defence claimed.

Chat history allegedly deleted

According to Zaobao, the plaintiff further alleged that shortly after Zhou's funeral, Sun deliberately deleted the text message history between herself and Zhou before returning his phone to the family.

After the family recovered the phone, they discovered that there were no text message notifications from either of the two banks concerning the numerous cash withdrawals.

When Zhou's daughter questioned Sun, she admitted to making the withdrawals but was vague about where the money had gone.

Woman alleged the money was a gift

When Sun took the witness stand on Sep. 1 and 2, she denied the allegations and maintained that she and Zhou were in a romantic relationship, Zaobao reported.

She claimed the relationship was an "open secret" and that the money was a voluntary gift from Zhou, intended to ensure that she could live comfortably after his death.

According to Sun, the two began dating in 2014 and lived together in a company-owned residence in eastern Singapore, where she took care of Zhou's daily needs.

She said Zhou had a strained relationship with his wife and only contacted his daughter occasionally.

As such, she voluntarily took on the role of caring for Zhou during the latter part of his life.

She said their relationship was an "open secret", and that Zhou's daughter and wife should have known about it.

She claimed that Zhou told her he was concerned about how she would support herself in Singapore after his death.

After learning that he had only about six months to live, Sun said Zhou told her:

"We’ve been together for such a long time. I’m very worried about how you’ll live in Singapore after I’m gone. I hope you won’t have to worry about money in the future. I’ll buy you a house, so you’ll have a home of your own… But no one can know that I’m giving you this money."

Sun said that she filled in the amounts and her own name on the cheques at Zhou’s instructions.

On one occasion, she said, Zhou asked her to hold his hand and use it to sign one of the cheques.

Sun said she had tried to stop him, telling him, "Boss, you can’t write it like this," but Zhou replied, "If I tell you to hold my hand, then hold it."

Two months after Zhou’s death, Sun used money from his bank deposits to purchase an apartment.

A South Korean man, known as Mr A, died three months after his wedding.

He was in his 50s.

A YouTube channel outlined the story, with the informant being a close friend of the man.

The friend claimed that A had married the woman after his mother passed away.

His mother had been against him marrying a foreign bride.

The man had only seen a picture of the woman, and had not met her before deciding to marry her.

According to his friend, there had been some initial hiccups involving issues like tattoos and medical testing, but the wedding eventually went ahead.

However, issues persisted into the marriage as well, with the wife reportedly insisting on living in a separate room, even expressing her desire to return to Vietnam.

The friend revealed that A talked to him daily about his marital issues.

The wife then allegedly announced her intention to return to Vietnam. When A tried to get her to stay, a fight reportedly broke out between them.

According to the friend, A had been struck in the face while he was asleep, and retaliated afterwards.

The police was called, and his wife was taken away for her protection.

The friend said A disagreed with the police and claimed he had come off worse in the exchange.

When he visited A after the fight, A reportedly had bruises on his face, as well as bite and scratch marks all over his body.

A also claimed that he had suffered three broken teeth from a previous fight, after his wife allegedly struck his face with her knee.

He also allegedly fell into depression after the incident, and he tried to self-harm multiple times.

He died after suffering a cardiac arrest about three months after the wedding.

Several people who flew to Nanning, China, to attend meetings of an alleged pyramid scheme said they had seen Singapore celebrities there.

One male celebrity appeared to be part of the team organising the welcome event for new recruits, they told Shin Min Daily News.

Shin Min did not name the celebrities.

Pyramid scheme

On Sep. 4, the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said that 52 Singaporeans have been arrested and detained in Guangxi following China's law enforcement operation against suspected pyramid scheme activities and related offences.

Nanning is the capital of the Guangxi region.

Several Singaporeans invited to Nanning previously told the media they were introduced to a programme involving a business opportunity linked to the city's development.

They later suspected it was a pyramid scheme, but not before some had already invested thousands.

These participants claimed to have seen fellow Singaporeans conducting the meetings and presentations sharing more about the investment programme.

Singapore celebrity allegedly involved

According to Shin Min, two women who were invited on such an organised trip to Nanning claimed to have seen the same male Singapore celebrity there.

A woman, surnamed Zheng, said she saw him at one of the events.

She added that a member of the programme later shared photos from the trip, and some other Singapore celebrities were apparently photographed attending the events.

Another woman, surnamed Chen, said that when she travelled to Nanning for the programme in 2019, she was introduced to Singaporean businesspeople at a restaurant.

Among them was purportedly a male Singapore celebrity.

"Even though it was so long ago, I still remember it because someone specially introduced the man as a Singapore celebrity," Chen said.

As she was growing suspicious of the programme, Chen pretended that she did not have any money on her at the time.

But a friend offered to pay her membership fee first, and she went to the welcome event for new members.

She claimed that she saw the celebrity again at this event.

"From what I remember, he seemed to be part of the team in charge of the event," Chen said. "But I'm not very sure what his role was."

No response from the celebrity

Shin Min said they have reached out to the male celebrity but received no response.

According to them, his social media bio states that he is a retired Singapore entrepreneur.

Apart from posts about his workout routine, he also made several posts about his trips to China.

They include a video about Nanning posted in 2025, with a caption saying that Nanning is only a second-tier city in China.

*Editors Note: We have edited the article for clarity*

A 22-year-old British man was sentenced to five-days short detention order (SDO) and 100 hours community service for assaulting a 66-year-old private-hire vehicle driver in Singapore.

A SDO requires the offender to be detained in prison for a period not exceeding 14 days. It acts as a deterrent by allowing the offender to experience prison life.

It is a type of community based sentence, which means that if he successfully complete the sentence, the offence of which he was convicted will be removed from his criminal record.

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

Oruche Morgan Fidelis, a Singapore permanent resident, showed up in court on Sep. 7 clad in a black suit and mask for his sentencing.

On Jul. 17, he pleaded guilty to an amended charge of assault after pleading not guilty to the original charge of voluntarily causing hurt which causes grievous hurt on Jul. 15.

Incident

According to the prosecution's closing statement, on Jun. 12, 2024, at about 5pm, Morgan consumed three pints of beer while accompanying his boss and two clients to a bar.

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

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

The prosecution's position was that when the vehicle arrived at Morgan's residence located at Sunset Heights at about 10:58pm, the driver found him asleep in the backseat.

The driver then attempted to wake him up.

However, the prosecution's position was that Morgan was reportedly unhappy at being awakened and proceeded to lunge at and push the driver, causing him to fall and hit his head on the ground, resulting in a skull fracture.

He was conveyed to National University Hospital for emergency treatment.

Driver's skull fracture

The driver later passed away from natural causes in June 2025.

As a result, the only objective evidence in this case was surveillance footage from a private residence across Morgan's place of residence.

The footage revealed that after the accused woke up, he appeared to calmly remove his headphones and move towards the driver in one swift movement.

The judge noted that medical evidence only confirmed that 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 how the injury was caused were highly speculative, and the prosecution was unable to prove beyond a reasonable doubt how the accused voluntarily caused hurt, the court could not convict the accused on the original charge of voluntarily causing hurt which causes grievous hurt.

This resulted in the amendment of the original charge that the accused lunged at and pushed the driver, causing him to sustain a skull fracture, to the amended charge of assault, where the accused committed an aggressive act by raising his left hand arm towards the driver.

Sentencing

In court on Sep. 7, the judge handed Morgan 100 hours of community service within 12 months, based on evidence taken from the footage.

He was also given a short detention order of five days and released on bail.

The judge cited an "unfortunate coincidence of a few things", among which were Morgan's inebriated state which prevented him from providing a clear account of what happened resulting in the injury of the driver.

He also took into account Morgan's clean record, young age and the fact that he had pleaded guilty when the charge was amended.

However, if Morgan fails to comply or complete the sentence, he will be brought back to court to be sentenced in accordance with the law.

Following a short recess, Morgan's bail was also extended.