Singaporeans, permanent residents and foreigners residing in Singapore can now use DBS Remit, via digibank, to transfer money directly to Weixin Pay, the digital renminbi wallet within the Weixin and WeChat apps.

DBS users can directly top up their own WeChat Pay wallets

DBS made the announcement about DBS Remit, a mobile banking app under DBS, on Jun. 5.

Funds sent through DBS Remit are credited to the recipient wallet almost instantly and can be used for payments, transfers and other services within the WeChat ecosystem, Lianhe Zaobao reported.

To receive funds, non-Chinese users need to upload their passport on WeChat to verify their identity. Transfers are linked to the mobile number tied to the WeChat account.

However, due to the WeChat Pay User Service Agreement, WeChat Wallet balances can only be withdrawn to bank accounts in China and cannot be directly transferred back to bank accounts in Singapore.

Strong growth since February launch

The new service comes after the WeChat pay remittance service launched by DBS in Feb. 2026 in partnership with TenPay Global.

Previously, recipients needed to be verified WeChat users from mainland China, Hong Kong, or Macau.

Since then, the bank said the number of customers using DBS Remit to fund WeChat Pay wallets has quadrupled, while transaction volumes have increased eightfold.

Average transfer amounts have also risen to more than S$800.

DBS said the growth reflects increasing demand for convenient digital payment options between Singapore and China.

DBS users can visit the bank's website for a step-by-step guide on how to use the new feature.

OCBC to launch similar service

OCBC Bank will be launching a similar feature, Lianhe Zaobao reported.

OCBC users will be able to directly remit funds to WeChat Pay users worldwide once the feature is launched, the OCBC spokesperson shared.

A team of former Mediacorp artistes and personalities have rallied support for ex-actor Huang Yiliang's crab hawker beehoon stall at Circuit Road Hawker Centre on TikTok.

In a TikTok posted by Bing Bing Biang Biang, a livestreaming channel co-founded by local actress Cassandra See, a number of artistes were featured striding over to Huang's stall, before cutting to the man himself, who was beaming from ear to ear.

The artistes who were shown included See, Cherie Lim, Amy Koh, Celine Neo, Jason Oh, Joy Yak, and Apple Hong.

The TikTok caption said "We're here to rally support for Brother Yiliang."

Said Huang was a "man of principle"

In a follow-up video on the same TikTok channel, See and Oh spoke up for Huang, saying that he was a "good person".

The two shared an anecdote of Huang offering to lend Oh the keys to his home in Marine Parade in the past, telling Oh that he could go to his house to shower and rest as he often jogged around the area.

Oh said that he even raised safety concerns to Huang back then, but Huang told him that it was okay.

See added that Huang was a "man of principle", and was often misunderstood by others.

Recent spat with fellow hawker

Huang's recent spat with a fellow hawker at Circuit Road Hawker Centre has brought attention to his hawker stall, with customers queuing for hours to try his crab bee hoon and former showbiz friends visiting his stall.

He told Mothership in mid-May that over 10 people applied to be his new assistant at his hawker stall.

Top image via @bingbingbiangbiangsquad/TikTok

FamilyMart Malaysia has issued an apology following a viral incident on May 28, where an employee allegedly threw hot soup at a delivery rider.

Clips of the incident that circulated widely on social media showed the employee in what appeared to be a verbal dispute with the rider, who filmed the encounter.

As the argument grew heated, the employee threw a bowl of hot broth at the rider, who could be heard saying, "Guys, this FamilyMart kid is being so rude".

The incident reportedly took place at a FamilyMart outlet in Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya in Selangor, Malaysia, according to local news reports.

According to the rider, he had approached the employee and asked about his food order, but was angrily told to wait as she was busy.

Suspension and apology

FamilyMart initially responded by suspending the employee and stating that it is investigating the exact cause of the incident.

In a Jun. 5 statement, it apologised for the actions of the employee and said it has "attended to the wellbeing of the delivery rider".

It is also cooperating with authorities in their investigation, they said.

"FamilyMart Malaysia reiterates that we do not tolerate any rude, unsafe or disrespectful behaviour towards anyone – including customers, staff, delivery personnel, and business partners – at our store."

The supermarket chain added that it "will not compromise in taking the necessary action" and has reminded employees of their customer service training.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) has issued Disabling Directions (DD) to social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) to disable Singapore users' access to online content that negatively target Singapore's Indian community.

Investigations revealed the content likely originated from a China-based platform and spread elsewhere in the online space.

Under the Online Criminal Harms Act 2023 (OCHA), the authorities have ordered social media platforms to block access to 14 online posts.

Inflammatory narratives

According to a press release issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Jun. 6, the posts contained inflammatory narratives suggesting that Singapore was being "overrun by Indians".

They included allegations that Singapore's multiracial policy is a façade meant to appeal to Western values, and that the country's stability cannot be attributed to its multiracial policy, but rather to its Chinese-majority demographic.

Minister for Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs Edwin Tong said in a Jun. 6 media doorstop that some videos also conveyed the message that the Chinese ethnic group has a greater right to belong in Singapore, compared to other ethnic groups.

They also suggested that Singapore's ethnic Indian politicians numbers are growing and that they would act in favour of Indian immigrants.

The content included images of Singapore's president, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and political office-holders as part of a narrative that there is a growing "over-representation" of Indians in Singapore's government.

Content denounced Singapore government's "decoupling" from China

At the same time, some of the narratives claimed that Singapore's culture is "fundamentally Chinese", MHA said.

They denounced the government's "decoupling" from China while neglecting the "threat" of a growing Indian population, suggesting it would lead to a negative outcome.

The posts were accompanied by selective images and footage of crowded streets along Little India, likely taken on a weekend when migrant workers would have the day off, as well as of Indian devotees at a religious festival at Pagoda Street, to suggest Singapore's "overcrowding" with Indians.

Derogatory language was also used against the Indian community, including terms like "concentration of curry".

Posts likely originated from China-based platform

The posts came after narratives circulated in the Chinese information space in May 2026 that the Singapore public was facing growing anxiety over the nation's cultural identity and ethnic politics.

Investigations by MHA found that the content likely originated from a China-based platform and spilled over into other online spaces.

There have also been deliberate efforts to spread similar content into Singapore's information space, said the ministry.

The posts were assessed by MHA and SPF to likely constitute an offence of knowingly promoting feelings of enmity or ill-will against racial groups, or acts prejudicial to the maintenance of racial harmony in Singapore.

DDs were issued for the platforms to take all reasonable steps to disable Singapore users' access to 14 such posts.

Singapore firmly opposes nativism and xenophobia

In its press release, MHA denounced the attacks, saying that "Singapore firmly opposes nativism and xenophobia."

"Any attempt to pit one community against another here must be firmly rejected," it said, adding that "attacks coming from a foreign source are doubly unacceptable."

In his interview, Tong emphasised that the division of people by race "is not who we are".

"Every community in Singapore here is valued and everyone has an equal place."

He added that there is currently no evidence to suggest that the attacks were a coordinated campaign by any foreign government, and said the Singapore government's priority now is to take down the posts.

He also urged Singaporeans to be discerning with online content consumed and avoid disseminating them should they pose a threat to social harmony.

What appeared to be a disagreement betwen two colleagues turned into a stabbing incident in a residential area on a Friday morning (Jun. 5) in Chongqing, China.

Professor allegedly stabbed university vice president to death

The victim, Liao Linqing, 60, is the vice president of Chongqing University of Technology, according to Caixin.

Police revealed that Wang, the alleged perpetrator, stabbed his colleague Liao, to death with a knife in their residential compound.

Online reports have found that Wang, 58, is an associate professor in Chongqing University of Technology's computer science department, reported Sinchew.

Claimed he was "acting on behalf of heaven"

In videos circulating on social media, Wang was recorded saying that he was "acting on behalf of heaven to rid people of this scourge", referring to the victim.

He also claimed that Liao had been reported by students online and had caused many students to develop depression.

A resident living in the area shared that he saw police tape put up near the scene and police officers were already present at around 7am.

The university has not released an official statement regarding the incident.

Top image via @Byron_Wan/X

Starting today (Jun. 6), PayNow users will no longer be able to see or set nicknames when sending or receiving money.

Say goodbye to "676767", "giga chad" or "scubaaaaa".

Instead, masked names are the unchangeable default.

But why, how and what now?

Here's the stuff you need to know about the new feature change to PayNow.

Change? What change?

Starting Jun. 6, 2026, the PayNow nickname feature for retail customers will no longer be available.

Read this if you need more context:

So, instead of "676767" or whatever the latest Gen-Alpha slang word you might be using as your PayNow nickname, PayNow will now only display selected letters of your name to a payer during a PayNow transfer.

For example, if your name is Jonathan Tan Jun Jie, PayNow will display JonatXXX TaX JuX JiX instead.

This applies to those who have not set a nickname as well.

About 30 per cent of PayNow users are currently using nicknames.

Why the change? I loved being "bling daddy" on PayNow!

Too many scammers.

Scammers have been exploiting customisable nicknames to impersonate legitimate businesses, government agencies, or even your friends to trick victims into transferring money.

Think you're sending money to your secondary school friend Alysha? Nope. It might be someone pretending to be Alysha.

Discontinuing the PayNow nickname feature removes one way in which scammers can trick victims.

Why not use full names then? Why more Xs than my ex?

The nickname option was previously available to PayNow users who preferred more privacy.

Displaying partial names seeks to strike a balance between a reasonable level of privacy and giving sufficient confidence that the payee is the intended recipient, which helps to fight impersonation scams.

"X" was chosen to hide certain letters because it is a generally recognised alphabet to represent something concealed or misleading.

It also has a visual resemblance to a cross-out mark.

The name display format was tested through industry and consumer studies.

By the way, Hong Kong's PayNow-equivalent system also displays a partial name.

Ok, so what about those people who wanted privacy? Are we taking that away from them?

The reason for the change is not to shift away from privacy, but to remove scammers' ability to exploit the nickname feature.

The display of a partial name will still afford a reasonable level of privacy.

At the same time, there is enhanced privacy for the majority of PayNow users whose full names are currently displayed.

Fine. Do I need to do anything?

Nope. Your nickname is already gone, and the masked full name is already in use.

However, you just need to get used to seeing the changes to your payee's nickname when making payments to him or her.

Again, here's what PayNow display names might look like now.

All other aspects of receiving and transferring money via PayNow remain unchanged.

Omg. Does this mean I will now be safe from scams?

There is no magic bullet for the plaguing issue of scams.

It's best to remain vigilant.

The discontinuation of PayNow nicknames is part of a comprehensive set of anti-scam safeguards, including the setting of transaction limits, cooling-off periods, fraud surveillance and ongoing consumer education.

All these are continually enhanced and fine-tuned to combat the ever-changing ways and methods employed by scheming scammers.

Omg again. What if the scammers make use of the new display format to harvest my name for scam purposes?

There are already safeguards in the PayNow system to detect and prevent mass harvesting of names.

Participating institutions continually monitor the scam landscape, and while the risk of name harvesting is not new, these safeguards have been stepped up in light of the name format change.

A 38-year-old man in Bangkok, Thailand, was arrested after sexually harassing his mother over text while high on drugs, reported Bangkok Post.

The mother, 57, had asked for help from Gun Jompalang, a Thai influencer with around 10 million followers, who shed light into her issue in several Facebook posts, which had gone viral.

Man told neighbours he and his mother were married

Chat records between the mother and son posted online showed the man repeatedly asking her for sex, even suggesting that they go to a hotel.

The messages also contained suggestive content such as the son saying that his mother "hasn't had sex in many years", and that he had "seen everything already".

Bangkok Post reported that Gun had claimed the man told neighbours that he and his mother were a married couple.

In a home inspection conducted by Gun with police officers on Tuesday (Jun. 2), multiple small holes were found in the bathroom wall and were believed to have been made deliberately for spying purposes.

Son was allegedly high on drugs

The mother eventually lodged a complaint with authorities under Gun's guidance.

According to Thai media outlet Khaosod, the mother was worried about her safety and her son's wellbeing, as his behaviour had grown more disturbing, violent, and was also hallucinating at times.

She also shared that her son had been taking drugs since he was 17.

During police questioning, the man allegedly admitted to sending a text message asking his mother to have sex with him.

He appeared to be hallucinating and speaking incoherently after being arrested, according to the police, and he had admitted to using methamphetamine on Wednesday morning.

The man has been charged with sexual harassment, and is facing up to two years in jail, or a fine of up to 40,000 baht (S$1,570) or both, if convicted.

Top image via Gun Jompalang/Facebook

On Jun. 4, 2026, police officers from the Anti-Scam Command arrested two men and two women, age between 26 and 38, in the vicinity of Tuas for their suspected involvement in fraudulently registering SIM cards.

Another three men, aged between 30 and 65, are assisting in investigations.

SIM cards were to be used by overseas scammers

This was part of an enforcement operation against errant retailers engaged in the registration of postpaid SIM cards which were subsequently used by overseas syndicates to perpetrate scams.

Preliminary investigations by the police revealed that the 34-year-old man and two women had used the information of actual customers to pre-register for additional postpaid SIM cards and the 26-year-old man was in the process of being taught to do so.

The mobile lines that were registered were subsequently used in impersonation scams.

The four arrested will be charged in court on Saturday (Jun. 6) for the facilitation of fraudulent registration of SIM cards that facilitate criminal activity.

This offence carries a fine of up to S$10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or to both.

If convicted, the individual may be liable to caning of up to 12 strokes.

Scammers may be caned

The police takes a serious view of SIM cards being misused as a conduit for crimes and will not hesitate to take action against retailers who fraudulently register additional SIM cards without authorisation, allowing others to use their SIM cards, helping other individuals to register or holding multiple SIM cards without a legitimate reason.

Under the Facility Restriction Framework, individuals involved in such mule related offences, whether they are under investigation and assessed to be at risk, or have been warned, issued with composition sums, prosecuted, or convicted, may be prohibited from subscribing to new mobile lines to prevent further facilitation of scams.

With effect from Dec. 30, 2025, scammers and members or recruiters of scam syndicates will face mandatory caning of at least six strokes, which can go up to 24 strokes.

Scam mules who enable scammers by laundering scam proceeds, providing SIM cards and providing Singpass credentials will face discretionary caning of up to 12 strokes.

A woman was sentenced to four years' imprisonment on Friday (Jun. 5) for allowing her teenage son, then 15, to use methamphetamine.

The mother, 52, pleaded guilty to two charges, including exposing a child to drug utensils and methamphetamine consumption, according to The Straits Times.

Son discovered drug utensils at home

From Jan. 2025 to Jun. 2025, the woman and her husband, the stepfather of the boy, had provided him with drugs, and left various drug utensils in the Yishun flat they lived in where he could access them.

All parties in this case cannot be named due to a court-imposed gag order.

In Jan. 2025, her son, who was 15 at the time, found drug utensils that had been left in the sink and asked his mother about them.

She told him they were used to smoke methamphetamine, reported CNA. She started smoking methamphetamine in 2022.

DPP Etsuko Lim said this led the teenager to consider trying the drug himself.

Teen smoked meth every two to three days

Over the following months, the teenager smoked methamphetamine every two to three days, using drug utensils that his mother and stepfather left in the living room.

He also obtained the drug from the couple.

The woman's conduct reinforced her son's drug-taking habit, prosecutors said. She neither warned him about the dangers of drug abuse nor instructed him to stay away from the drug utensils.

The court also heard that she had given her son a drug utensil on one occasion.

Arrested by CNB

The woman was arrested by officers from the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) on Jun. 23, 2025.

CNB officers found drug utensils in the flat. The woman admitted that although the utensils belonged to her husband, she also used them to consume methamphetamine.

At the time of her arrest, she was smoking methamphetamine once or twice a week.

Sentenced to four years' jail

The prosecution sought a jail term of between three years and 12 months and three years and 14 months.

She said tat the woman's irresponsible misconduct reinforced her son's drug consumption habit, reported ST.

On Jun. 5, the court sentenced the woman to four years' imprisonment.

District Judge Brenda Choo agreed with the prosecution that there was a strong need to protect children from exposure to drugs and that deterrence should be one of the main sentencing considerations, according to CNA.

In this case, they did not only expose their child to drugs, but also permitted him to consume them, she said.

The offence of knowingly or recklessly exposing a child to controlled drugs or drug paraphernalia is punishable by up to 10 years' imprisonment.

Having previously been admitted to the Drug Rehabilitation Centre, the woman also faced between three and 10 years' jail, a fine of up to S$20,000, or both, for consuming methamphetamine.

Top image from Daniel Kaesler/EyeEm via Getty, Mothership

A 39-year-old man has been arrested for his allegedly stealing a parked car at an open space carpark along Lorong 4 Toa Payoh.

According to a police news release, the police was alerted by the victim to the incident at about 1:50pm on Jun. 5.

The man was caught within two hours after being identified by ground enquiries and images from police cameras.

The victim's car was also recovered.

The alleged thief will be charged in court on Jun. 6 for the theft of a motor vehicle.

If found guilty, he may be jailed up to seven years and fined.

In their press release, the police also advised vehicle owners on a number of crime prevention measures, including parking vehicles in well-lit areas and not leaving keys or transponders unattended.

Valuables should also be removed from vehicles before owners leave their vehicles, while windows should be wound up and doors should be locked even when owners leave their vehicles for short periods.