A 43-year-old Taiwanese man who was allegedly unhappy that his Thai girlfriend broke up with him is suspected of strangling her to death, putting her body in a suitcase, then hiding it in a freezer at his office.

When asked by his colleagues about the appearance of the freezer at the office, the man replied that he had bought ingredients to prepare for the Mid-Autumn festival.

The man, surnamed Wu, was arrested on Sep. 19 by Taiwanese authorities.

The alleged murder supposedly took place on Sep. 12 at a hotel in Ximending, Taiwanese media SETNews reported.

Had dated each other for more than a year

Taiwanese media EBC reported that the couple had known and dated each other for more than a year, and that they would often fly to each other's countries to meet.

SETNews further wrote that the woman had planned to break up with Wu in early August.

At the time of the murder, the woman had flown in to Taiwan on Sep. 2, and was scheduled to return to Thailand on Sep. 14.

From Sep. 2 to Sep. 11, the pair also met almost every day.

On Sep. 12, Wu showed up at her hotel with a 30-inch suitcase.

During this time, they had an argument as the woman brought up the topic of breaking up. Wu allegedly lost control of his emotions during the argument, strangled her then stuffed her body into the suitcase.

He then drove south to Taichung.

On Sep. 14, when the woman's family could not contact her, they immediately alerted the police through a friend in Taiwan.

Wu was eventually arrested on the morning of Sep. 19, following a manhunt. He was then taken to his office, where the woman's body was also discovered.

During questioning, Wu admitted that he was unhappy with her decision to breakup with him and that he had killed her as he saw there was no hope of reconciliation.

A 22-year-old man was arrested at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) for voyeurism.

According to an NTU Reddit thread, other gym users said they saw a man being patted down by five security guards at "NH gym", which is presumed to refer to NTU's North Hill gym.

Users said the guards were spotted at the scene since about 7:30pm, and the police later arrived and spoke to other students until at least 8:40pm.

An NTU spokesperson told Mothership in a statement that NTU’s Campus Security responded to a call for assistance on a campus gym on the evening of Sep. 19.

"Security officers subsequently contacted the Singapore Police Force. The police arrested a 22-year-old male student for voyeurism.

NTU wellbeing staff are in touch with affected parties to provide support and assistance. Police investigations are ongoing."

In response to Mothership's queries, the police confirmed they received a call for assistance at 66 Nanyang Crescent on Sep. 19 at about 7:30pm.

The address corresponds to NTU's Banyan Hall.

North Hill gym is located at Binjai Hall, part of the North Hill Halls which also includes Banyan Hall.

Police investigations are ongoing.

A Malaysian man who was active in the country's anime, comics and games (ACG) community has passed away following a livestream where he talked about the struggles he faced in his career and interpersonal relationships.

The man, Solomon Freeman Looi, who went by the online pseudonym of Soloman Freeman, went live in the early morning of Sep. 15.

Soon after, Malaysian police found him dead. He is believed to have fallen from height.

What did he talk about in his livestream?

In a roughly half-hour-long livestream posted to Facebook at around 3am, the 39-year-old spoke at length about how he was involved in a legal dispute many years ago.

He added that while he was eventually proven innocent, the experience still placed him under heavy mental and physical stress.

He also said he had been the subject of false rumours spread by a friend, which resulted in him being disliked by everyone.

In asserting his innocence during the livestream, he said the person in question had since admitted to sexual harassment and even apologised publicly for it.

Despite his self-proclaimed net worth of RM70 million (S$21 million), Looi also shared about several money-related issues and how he had been supporting several women.

He continued that one woman he gave RM1 million (S$313,500) to cheated on him.

Looi added that he sponsored the college tuition fees for other girls, who then "suddenly vanished".

His final "breaking point" was when a woman he had been with for six years also cheated on him.

Looi claimed to have given her millions, two houses, and a Lamborghini, and described these incidents as "betrayals".

He ended his livestream by saying:

"Like I said, I'm completely alone now, and I already made up my decision. So whatever it is for you guys, please keep on living... for my part. Peace out. This is Doctor Solomon Freeman signing off."

In response to his livestream, netizens left hundreds of comments expressing concern for his well-being.

Fell from height

At 3:38am, Looi posted one last Facebook post with the words "Good bye".

The Malaysian police confirmed that they were alerted at about 4:43am.

A Chinese man was believed to have fallen from a height of about 20 storeys, China Press reported.

They said that preliminary investigations did not reveal a suicide note.

Police investigations are still ongoing.

Tributes have been posted online, highlighting Looi's contributions to the ACG community.

Helplines

If you or someone you know are in mental distress, here are some hotlines you can call to seek help, advice, or just a listening ear:

• National mindline.sg Hotline: 1771 (24 hours)
• National mindline.sg WhatsApp: 66691771 (24 hours)
• SOS 24-hour Hotline: 1-767
• Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019
• Centre for Domestic Employees: 1800 225 5233 (24 hours)
• Foreign Domestic Worker Association for Social Support and Training: 1800 339 4357 (24 hours)
• HOME (migrant worker): +65 6341 5535 (WhatsApp / Viber / SMS)
• HOME (domestic worker): +65 9787 3122 (WhatsApp / SMS / Call)
• SHECARES@SCWO: Call: 8001 01 4616 | WhatsApp: 8985 5528 (For targets of online harms)
• National Anti-Violence and Sexual Harassment Helpline (NAVH): 1800-777-0000

During a renovation of his parents' home, a Singaporean man was made to pay S$216,000 for the project after his contractor disappeared.

It was nearly three times the intended cost of S$80,000.

Of the total amount, the losses added up to about S$136,000, with a large bulk of it coming from his parents' retirement savings.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary

The victim, Errol Lee, told CNA's Money Mind that things seemed normal at first.

The family engaged the contractor as he offered them a quotation within their budget of S$80,000.

Other quotations they received were in the range of S$130,000 to S$150,000, which far exceeded their budget.

"Eventually we went with him because of pricing and also because we thought his entire set up was quite credible," said Lee.

The contractor's company had multiple showrooms, and online reviews appeared to be favourable.

The company's director also assured the family that he would personally take care of the project.

He was also responsive and claimed to have worked on more than 300 houses of varying sizes.

Red flags

However, red flags soon appeared as the contractor kept asking for more money than the originally agreed budget.

The additional costs included fees for extra hacking, electrical works, more carpentry and windows.

A chairperson of the Consumer Education Committee of the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) told CNA that a common bait used by fraudulent contractors is a low initial quotation.

However, there would later be "add-ons" that can "balloon into huge sums".

An interior designer repeatedly asking for more payments while renovation slows could also be a sign of the company facing cash flow problems, said a co-founder of HomeMatch, a Singapore-based platform that matches homeowners with accredited interior designers and contractors.

In many cases, they cannot continue paying their sub-contractors or lack working capital for material.

Asked to pay director personally

Soon, another request came for Lee's family, where they were asked to transfer S$35,000 to the company's director personally.

The company claimed it was facing issues transiting their bank accounts to another bank.

Lee said they proceeded with the payment despite some hesitation, as the family was anxious to complete renovations and move back in before the Chinese New Year.

The family paid S$77,000 eventually to the company, while S$47,000 went to the director's personal accounts.

Meanwhile, renovation works also slowed.

When the family inspected the home, they realised work was unfinished and there were measurement errors.

The house was also only half painted, and they had previously been selectively shown only the completed areas of the house.

The interior designer had also not used any of the products from the vendor the family had chosen.

When asked, he claimed that he had approached a different cheaper vendor to help them "save money".

Ghosted

Five months after renovations began, the contractor stopped replying his messages.

The company's showrooms were also vacated, and the family soon realised they had lost their money.

They had paid over S$130,000 at this point, but the home had to be rebuilt.

The only items preserved from the half-completed work were the tiles and windows, which Lee said would have cost S$20,000 and S$9,000 respectively.

When a second interior designer was engaged, works were completed in just six weeks.

Lee said that as this was the family's first renovation in many years, it was a "very new experience".

"We didn't think that it was that deep.

So I think the first step should always be to go and find out all these horror stories. What could potentially go wrong before actually looking for an interior design firm and really not get sold by the marketing."

A coroner has ruled the death of a 17-year-old boy who had a basketball frame fall on him in 2021 a misadventure.

On Jul. 26, 2021, Mohd Ridwan suffered fatal head injuries after the structure fell on him during a basketball game with his friends at Block 18 Bedok South Road.

During an attempted dunk, he had reportedly held onto the rim of the basketball hoop structure for about two seconds, unaware of its instability.

It then collapsed on him.

Paramedics tried to resuscitate the teen for 10 minutes but to no avail. He later succumbed to his injuries and died in hospital.

Misadventure ruling

According to CNA, a state coroner said on Sep. 18 that the teenager's manner of playing the game that day did not contribute to the accident.

The act of dunking and holding onto the rim were also "part and parcel of the game", he said.

As such, the hoop structure should have easily been able to withstand the forces involved.

Inconsistent welding

The Health Sciences Authority found that the structure's inconsistent welding may have contributed to its collapse.

A breakage had occurred at the weakest point of the pole — the point where the upper and bottom part of the two poles in the structure had been welded together.

According to the coroner, the breakage, and subsequently the accident, would not have occurred if the two welded poles had been one complete pole instead.

Reviews of the manufacturer's schematics also led to his conclusion that the poles had most likely been damaged and then repaired by welding, as the other hoop structure on the other end of the court did not have the same welding.

It was not determined if the damage occurred before or after the structure's installation.

No professional engineer engaged

It was noted that the basketball court had undergone renovations shortly before the accident.

As part of a contract, the renovation works were supposed to be carried out according to a design endorsed by a professional engineer.

The project manager from TMS Alliances, the company that was awarded the tender for repair works under East Coast Town Council, was not aware of such a requirement.

As a result, no professional engineer was recruited, the coroner pointed out.

Additionally, no checks were conducted during or after the installation of the basketball structure to ensure it was structurally sound, the police also found.

Town Council says immediate actions taken

In response to the ruling, East Coast Town Council said in a Facebook post on Sep. 18 that it acknowledges the findings.

"As Town Council, ensuring the safety of all facilities in the estate is a responsibility we hold seriously," it wrote.

It added that following the incident, all basketball courts in the estate were immediately closed.

Independent professional engineers appointed by the town council's review committee inspected all sports structures, and structures that required replacement were reopened to the public only after they were endorsed as safe by a professional engineer.

It was previously reported that the guardians of the victim had reached a settlement with the town council and EM Services, the managing agent overseeing the project.

"We continue to work with our Managing Agent EM Services, to enhance internal oversight and compliance with safety standards," the town council said in its Facebook post.

"Our thoughts remain with the family and loved ones of the late Mohd Ridwan, and we express our deepest sympathies to them once again. ​

We will remain in close contact and continue to provide assistance to the family of the late Mohd Ridwan who remains our priority."

A student from Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Neo Ying Ying, has received a hamper and a thank-you letter from Tower Transit Singapore after she helped a bus captain who had experienced a sudden medical emergency on bus service 854.

The incident took place on Sep. 14 while the bus was approaching a stop along Hougang Avenue 3.

Stayed with the driver until the ambulance arrived

According to Tower Transit Singapore in a Facebook post on Sep. 18, the accountancy student was on her way home when she was alerted to the bus captain slumped over the door of the driver’s cabin.

She ran over to help him and when she found him unresponsive, she asked another passenger to pull the handbrake while she called for the ambulance.

She also stayed with the bus captain out of concern until the ambulance arrived.

Another SBS Transit captain who was nearby also stepped in, alerting Tower Transit's control centre while the passenger who stopped the bus explained the situation.

In thanking Neo and the other two passengers for their actions, Tower Transit noted that the bus captain was able to receive timely medical attention.

Tower Transit also added in their Sep. 18 Facebook post that they were still looking for two other passengers onboard bus service 854 who helped the driver out.

"If that’s you, please contact us at feedback@towertransit.sg or 1800 248 0950," Tower Transit wrote.

A 69-year-old man who was living alone in the flat after his son went overseas for studies was found dead after neighbours were alerted to a foul smell coming from the flat.

According to Shin Min Daily News, the incident occurred at Block 318 Ubi Avenue 1. When a reporter arrived at the scene, police officers were seen entering a unit on the 12th floor.

One of the neighbours, Su (transliteration), told Shin Min Daily News that the deceased was an elderly man who had just moved into the flat about two years ago.

He was a friendly man and she last saw him five days ago.

Living alone for a month

Su said the man lived in the flat with his youngest son and apparently had four children.

However, the man had been living alone for just a month as his son went overseas to study, Shin Min Daily News reported.

Su added that she noticed a foul smell in her home a few days ago and thought some food had gone bad.

However, as the smell got stronger, she suspected something was wrong.

She and her son tried to find the source and found it was coming from the man's unit.

In response to Mothership's queries, the Singapore Police Force said that they were alerted to a case of unnatural death at Block 318 Ubi Avenue 1 on Sep. 17, 2026.

A 69-year-old man was found lying motionless in a residential unit and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Based on preliminary investigations, the police do not suspect foul play.

Police investigations are ongoing.

A drink stall in Kovan has made the rounds online for its creative "Cash Only" sign.

Nan Fang Ming Tea House at 209 Hougang Street 21 has put up a sign to emphasise that the stall only accepts cash, which says:

"No Lah, No Now, No CDC" and "Only Mr Yusof Bin Ishak".

While some netizens found the signage funny, others commented that they would not patronise the stall because of the lack of payment options.

Cash-only

Speaking to a Shin Min Daily News reporter, the stall owner, Qiu Shi Ni (transliteration), said she put up a "Cash Only" sign, but many customers did not notice it.

The 85-year-old, who has run the shop for 42 years, shared that customers sometimes scolded her when they realised they did not have cash for a drink, or left after she started brewing the coffee when they found out the shop only accepts cash.

Chiu shared that this could happen three to four times on the same day and she would either throw away the coffee or give it to someone else.

As such, she said she has to explain that she only accepts cash every time before making the coffee, but it is "very troublesome," she told Shin Min Daily News.

Make more people notice

The elderly stall owner told the Chinese media that she is illiterate and asked her younger daughter to help write the sign, hoping more people would notice.

She said that she does not know how to use electronic payments, adding that she never went to school and uses an old-fashioned mobile phone.

However, she still has customers asking her if they can use electronic payments, which left her feeling helpless.

Regular customers who appreciate the quality of their coffee would prepare cash to buy their drinks, Shin Min Daily News wrote.

One patron, Li (transliteration), told the Chinese media that he has patronised the shop for more than 10 years as he lives nearby.

While he mostly uses electronic payments, he always makes sure to have some cash on him when he visits the stall, and he does not find it troublesome.

He urged other customers to be more understanding towards the elderly stall owner.

A fish seller at a wet market in Clementi was fined S$2,000 on Sep. 18 for harassing a butcher whose stall was located directly opposite hers.

The 68-year-old woman, Xu Zhenji (transliteration), had reportedly told customers that the pork sold at a neighbouring stall was better and suggested that they buy from there instead.

According to Shin Min Daily News, Xu was operating a fish stall at the wet market at Block 448 Clementi Avenue 3 when the incident occurred.

She faced a total of three charges under the Protection from Harassment Act and pleaded guilty to one.

The remaining charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

Made remarks about the victim's stall

In 2024, Xu and the victim had a dispute over the use of shared spaces around their stalls, Shin Min reported.

Following this, Xu repeatedly made remarks about the victim's stall, speaking loudly enough for customers who were intending to buy from him to hear.

The victim subsequently applied for an expedited order to stop Xu from making insulting remarks about his stall in front of his customers.

The court granted the order on Aug. 8, 2024, and scheduled a hearing for Feb. 24, 2025, to consider the victim's application for a Personal Protection Order (PPO).

The victim was granted the PPO on Feb. 24, 2025.

Xu was also ordered to pay S$2,000 in costs to the victim.

However, on Nov. 18, 2025, Xu saw a female customer standing at the victim's pork stall and told her that the pork sold at the neighbouring stall was better.

She then suggested that the customer patronise that stall instead.

The victim said he felt that the remarks affected his business and amounted to harassment.

Xu had also claimed on two occasions, Jan. 12, 2025, and Feb. 25, 2026, that the pork sold at the victim's stall was frozen and not fresh. That violated the PPO, Shin Min reported.

She had previously told the court that she had not fought with the victim or damaged any property, and had merely said that he was selling frozen meat.

Xu was fined S$2,000 on Sep. 18, which she was allowed to pay in instalments.

When approached for comment, Xu declined to discuss the case, saying only that she respected the court's decision, Shin Min reported.

CCTV installed outside the butcher's stall

A visit by Shin Min reporters on Sep. 18 found a CCTV camera installed outside the pork stall.

An assistant at the stall said the two stalls have been operating at the location for about six or seven years and had initially coexisted peacefully.

The assistant said: "One of us sells meat and the other sells fish. How could there be a conflict of interest?"

The assistant claimed that in recent years, Xu had repeatedly harassed them and told customers that they were selling frozen meat at the price of fresh pork.

As a result, some regular customers stopped patronising the stall, the assistant said.

The assistant added that Xu would also sometimes shout loudly so that people nearby could hear.

The owner eventually applied for a protection order, hoping to put an end to the remarks.

"She hasn't harassed us recently. We're all running businesses, and it's best to keep the peace," the assistant said.

An email invitation sent by the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) has allegedly exposed the names and contact details of individuals with a hereditary cancer condition, including their workplaces in some cases.

Recipients were listed in the carbon copy (CC) field instead of the blind carbon copy (BCC) field due to an "administrative error".

Email invitation for an event

According to a report by The Straits Times (ST), the invitation was for an event titled "Living with HBOC".

HBOC refers to Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Syndrome, a hereditary cancer predisposition condition that can affect both men and women.

The invitation was reportedly sent to the NCCS’ list of individuals associated with the condition on Sep. 18.

However, recipients were able to see the names and email addresses of other invitees as the blind carbon copy (BCC) function was not used.

Instead, recipients were included in the carbon copy (CC) field.

This meant that the email addresses of other people on the mailing list were visible to recipients.

In cases where individuals had used their workplace email addresses, their workplaces could also be identified.

Recipients were asked to delete the email

According to ST, NCCS attempted to recall the email around two and a half hours later.

Recipients later received a second email, asking them to delete the earlier invitation from both their inboxes and trash folders.

They were also asked not to circulate the email further and not to use or save any of the email addresses contained in it.

The follow-up e-mail reportedly read: "Please be assured that this was an administrative error that affected e-mail addresses only. We are thoroughly reviewing our internal processes to ensure that this does not happen again."

A check on NCCS' website showed that the event, which is scheduled for Oct. 31, is organised for people with the HBOC syndrome.

The event also appears to be by invitation only.

The person who sent the email appeared to be a member of NCCS’ Cancer Genetics Service, ST reported.

NCCS’ Cancer Genetics Service is a specialised unit that provides genetic counselling, risk assessment and testing for people with a personal or family history of cancer.

Over 500 email addresses allegedly exposed

One recipient told ST that the number of email addresses revealed were "too numerous to count" and could be more than 500.

They added that the email domains revealed the companies, foreign embassies, and schools associated with those on NCCS’ HBOC mailing list.

"It ties identifiable people directly to a health condition, which is a more sensitive category of personal data than a typical CC mishap," the individual said.

They said they were worried that people they had never met would know about their genetic condition, and cited concerns that it could affect their work or insurance one day.

In response to Mothership's queries, the Personal Data Protection Commission said it is aware of the incident and investigating.

Mothership has reached out to NCCS and SingHealth for comment.