Singapore's National Environment Agency (NEA) has reached out to Johor's Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Corporation (SWCorp) on the issue of construction waste being illegally dumped in Pontian, Malaysia, the agency said in response to Mothership's queries.

This follows earlier media reports that the waste reportedly originated from Singapore.

The waste includes broken tiles, metal bars and construction equipment.

Construction waste export not allowed: NEA

Malaysian outlet New Straits Times reported on Aug. 17 that NEA's group director for resource and sustainability phoned the director of the Johor waste management authority and informed him that all exports of construction and demolition waste from Singapore to Malaysia will be halted.

NEA confirmed in its statement that a call took place between NEA and the Johor waste management agency, SWCorp.

During the call with SWCorp, NEA affirmed that Singapore does not allow construction and demolition (C&D) waste to be exported for disposal, the agency said.

Under Singapore’s regulatory framework, C&D waste must be properly processed and sorted locally for recycling, NEA explained.

"Homogeneous material streams such as ferrous scrap recovered from C&D waste are considered recyclables and can be exported, subject to the relevant regulatory requirements," the agency added.

Not yet established if Singapore companies were involved: NEA

NEA acknowledged that SWCorp has named nine Malaysian companies that it is investigating in relation to the illegal dumping.

"It is not yet established if Singapore companies were involved," NEA clarified.

NEA said it has issued an advisory to licensed waste disposal facilities handling C&D waste in Singapore, reminding them of regulatory requirements.

The agency also said:

"NEA takes a serious view of any illegal disposal of waste, as it pollutes the environment and can be a hazard to public health.

NEA will continue to work closely with the Malaysian authorities to investigate the matter."

Pontian locals told The Straits Times that convoys of trucks would rumble through the roads at night, affecting their sleep and damaging roads.

CNA previously reported that Johor is probing nine Malaysian firms suspected of being responsible for the illegal waste dumping.

The waste is believed to have been transported from Singapore via Tuas before being discarded on the land plots in Pontian, CNA wrote.

A 31-year-old man was arrested for drink-driving after he was involved in a traffic accident.

The incident occurred at Loyang Avenue in the early hours of Aug. 16.

In videos circulating online, a black vehicle appeared to have crashed into a bollard at a bus stop.

Smoke appeared to be emanating from the vehicle’s damaged engine.

Another car was parked at the side of the road, and a motorcycle was seen lying in front of both vehicles.

Debris was scattered along the incident site.

In response to Mothership's queries, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they were alerted to the incident at about 2:05am that day.

The accident involved two cars and a motorcycle.

A 31-year-old male car driver and a 20-year-old male motorcyclist were conveyed conscious to Changi General Hospital.

The male car driver was arrested for drink-driving.

Police investigations are ongoing.

Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs and Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Defence, Zaqy Mohamad, has asked the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) to review its safeguards, especially on informal activities involving children.

Zaqy said this in a video posted on Aug. 18, which comes after the news of a "religious influencer" who sexually abused two young boys at mosque premises was sentenced to 27 years and 10 months' jail and 24 strokes of the cane.

Zaqy said he was "deeply disturbed" when he learnt about the case.

"What happened should never have happened. Not to any child. Not anywhere. And certainly not in a place where our children and families should feel safe."

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'Mosque is more than a building'

Zaqy said the mosque is a gathering place of prayer and where children learn about their faith.

"It is a place where we should feel safe. So when that trust is abused, especially involving our children, it hurts us deeply as a community."

He addressed the anger and concern of the public and clarified: "The individual was not a mosque staff member or volunteer. He was also not an accredited religious teacher under the Asatizah Recognition Scheme."

"He was not conducting a formal religious class organised or approved by the mosque."

But he noted that the perpetrator's lack of affiliation did not make what happened any less serious.

"The fact remains that some of these interactions did take place within a mosque."

Measures announced but Zaqy asks MUIS to go further

Zaqy added that he, MUIS and mosque leaders had discussed gaps in how informal activities are overseen.

He said: "MUIS has announced measures to strengthen security, including patrols and CCTV

monitoring. But I have asked MUIS to go even further and review our safeguards carefully, especially informal activities and gatherings involving children and youths."

"Our mosques must remain open and welcoming. But open and welcoming must also mean safe."

'Should not let our guard down'

Zaqy stated that there was also a wider lesson that "we should not let our guard down simply because someone appears religious or speaks with authority about religion."

Especially as today, relationships can also begin online and children follow people and "may place their trust in someone who appears knowledgeable about religion".

"Most people use that influence for good. But sadly, there are also those who may abuse it."

Zaqy added: "Parents and caregivers need to stay close to our children and know who they are interacting with, online and offline."

"And our children must know this: If anyone makes you uncomfortable, asks you to keep something secret, or crosses a boundary, tell someone you trust. Your parents, loved ones or religious or mosque leaders. You will be heard."

'Trust is precious'

Zaqy concluded by stating that "for generations, our mosques have been places of worship, learning and belonging".

"Our asatizah have guided and supported generations of Muslims in Singapore."

He said: "That trust is precious. But trust also carries an amanah. When something goes wrong, we must be prepared to ask hard questions, learn from it, and do better."

Amanah is an Arabic word that can be directly translated as trust.

However, the term is best understood as a responsibility to uphold trust with morality, integrity, and honesty, according to MUIS.

Zaqy continued: "And when it concerns the safety of our children, that amanah must come first."

"We owe it to every parent who entrusts their child to our community and our mosques. And above all, we owe it to our children."

Social media platforms and online messaging services will be required to implement anti-scam safeguards by Jan. 31, 2027.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) introduced three new codes of practice (COP) for online services on Aug. 17, an Aug. 18 press release said.

SPF announced a new COP for online messaging and conferencing services, a new COP for social media services that replaces the existing COP for online communication services, and an enhanced COP for e-commerce services.

Messaging code

The messaging code will require online messaging platforms to implement measures that make it harder for unknown contacts to engage users, or to alert users to potential scam risks posed by unknown contacts.

The designated online messaging and conferencing services that pose the highest risk of scams to users in Singapore are WhatsApp, Telegram, WeChat, Apple iMessage, Apple FaceTime, Google Message, Google Meet.

They will be required to adhere to the new code.

Examples of the requirements include requiring the end-user’s consent before an unknown contact can add them to a chat group or channel.

These platforms are also required to display contextual warnings or risk indicators when receiving messages or calls from an unknown or suspicious account.

This includes showing the account creation date and country of origin of an unknown or suspicious account to the end-user, so that they can make informed decisions on whether to engage or continue communication with such accounts.

Additionally, these platforms are required to provide end-users with the option to silence, filter or block messages or calls originating from accounts or telephone numbers that are not present in the end-user’s contact list.

The code will also introduce requirements to prevent the spoofing of the Singapore government through profile names or pictures.

In 2025, online messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram alone accounted for about 23 per cent of total scam cases.

Investment scams are a key concern on online messaging platforms.

In this variant, scammers approach victims using accounts the victim does not know, appearing as "unknown contact”, to offer lucrative investment products.

Government officials impersonation scams are another key concern for online messaging platforms.

In 2025, about 18 per cent of such cases took place on WhatsApp.

SPF also observed that other messaging platforms, such as Google Meet, were used to perpetrate phishing scams involving the impersonation of police officers.

Due to the urgency of government officials impersonation scams cases, requirements relating to spoofing of the Singapore government must be complied with by Sep. 30, 2026.

Social media code

The newly introduced social media code will require social media platforms to ensure that content in advertisements on their platforms does not further a crime.

Social media services Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok pose the highest scam risk to users in Singapore and are required to adhere to the code.

The code requires preventing the publication of any advertisement accessible to Singapore users if there is reason to suspect it furthers a scam.

This includes assessing whether the advertisement uses URL cloaking to hide a destination website’s URL or otherwise contains suspicious content.

Social media platforms are required to promptly remove suspected scam advertisements that are accessible to Singapore users, including those reported by users.

Advertisers’ identities must be verified by checking government-issued records before advertisers targeting Singapore users are permitted to publish any advertisement on their platforms.

Additionally, social media platforms must disallow the publication of advertisements offering financial services and/ or products to Singapore users, unless the advertisers are licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) or other applicable Singapore authorities, or a licensed authority, to do so in Singapore.

In 2025, social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok accounted for about 30 per cent of total scam cases.

Facebook alone accounted for about 18 per cent of total scam cases.

Designated social media services are required to implement appropriate systems, processes, or measures to comply with the social media code by Jan. 31, 2027.

E-commerce code

The enhanced e-commerce code builds upon existing requirements for seller verification and payment protection.

E-commerce platforms, Carousell, Facebook Marketplace and Facebook Business Pages, will be required to introduce stronger consent measures before permitting logins from new or unrecognised devices.

The enhanced e-commerce code also adopts the safeguards introduced in the social media code to protect end-users against the exploitation of online advertisements by scam actors.

Designated e-commerce platforms will be required to implement the appropriate systems, processes or measures to comply with the e-commerce code by Jan. 31, 2027.

Enforcement

Where the Online Criminal Harms Act (OCHA) Office assesses that a provider of a designated online service has not complied with an applicable requirement, it may issue a rectification notice requiring the designated online service to remedy the non-compliance within a specified period.

Under the current OCHA penalty framework, failure to comply with a rectification notice without reasonable excuse is an offence that carries a maximum fine of S$1 million.

In the case of a continuing offence, the designated online service may be liable for a further fine of up to S$100,000 for each day, or part of a day, the offence continues after conviction.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has proposed legislative amendments in parliament in August 2026 to strengthen the OCHA penalty framework.

Under the proposed framework, for each instance of non-compliance with a code of practice or implementation directive, the OCHA Office may either issue a financial penalty not exceeding S$10 million, or direct the online platform to rectify the non-compliance through a rectification notice or a compliance order.

Failure to comply with a rectification notice or a compliance order without reasonable excuse is a criminal offence, punishable with a fine up to S$10 million.

In the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine of up to S$300,000 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction.

The police urged members of the public to remain vigilant against online criminal harms.

While designated online service providers are expected to do more to enhance the safety of their services under the COPs, users should continue to take precautions when interacting and transacting online, the police said.

When a man broke into his ex-girlfriend's home to reclaim his PlayStation console, he found that another man was in the house.

After questioning the other man about his relationship with the girl, he started to punch him repeatedly in the head, face, and ribs.

The victim was sent to the hospital and diagnosed with several injuries including a fractured thumb.

The assailant, Lincoln Lim Jun Hong, pleaded guilty on Aug. 17 to one charge of causing hurt. Two other charges for trespassing with the intent to cause annoyance were taken into consideration for sentencing.

The 36-year-old was fined S$5,000 in default of 25 days in jail. He has since paid the fine.

The trespassing

On the night of Feb. 19, 2023, Lim entered the home of his ex-girlfriend by keying in the password to her electronic door lock.

He knew the password from when they used to date.

According to court documents seen by Mothership, he broke into his ex-girlfriend's home to get his PlayStation console as she had informed him that she intended to end their relationship.

Argument

That night, the ex-girlfriend had invited a male friend to her house to play video games.

When Lim went into her house and saw her friend seated on a sofa, he asked her to explain what the other man was doing there.

She replied that her friend was merely playing video games in her home.

Lim was not satisfied with this response, and started to talk about the status of their relationship, both inside and outside her home.

Lim later left her house, but soon returned and began to directly question the victim about his relationship with his ex.

The victim did not engage with him, which made him increasingly agitated.

Fight

The two men ended up in a physical altercation, during which Lim punched the victim repeatedly in the head, face, and ribs.

Lim also pinned him down on the sofa, "[throwing] three hooks at his head region", Lim later admitted.

The victim raised his arms to block himself from the punches.

Afterwards, Lim picked up a plastic bar stool and threw it at the victim, who got hit.

Lim then left the house, and returned again to ask the victim further about his relationship with his ex, before finally leaving for the last time.

At some point during the altercation, the ex-girlfriend called her mother for help, and her mother made a police report, saying that her daughter's ex-boyfriend was causing a scene at her house.

Due to the fracture, the victim's left thumb was immobilised in a splint.

His other injuries were contusions on the forehead, left elbow, and left shoulder blade, as well as a superficial laceration on a finger.

According to court documents, Lim also has a previous offence for getting into a fight with three people at Marquee Club in September 2022, and punching, kicking, and pushing a woman.

A repeat offender who assaulted three people and was a public nuisance near a pre-school has been sentenced to jail.

On Aug. 17, 2026, 54-year-old Singaporean Lim Sok Lay, who was in remand, was sentenced to six months and two weeks' jail after pleading guilty to two counts of assault, one count of being a public nuisance, and one count of voluntarily causing hurt to a security officer.

Lim was previously fined S$4,000 in 2022 and another S$4,000 in 2025 after harassing her neighbour, a nurse during the Covid-19 outbreak and for causing a commotion during her son's lion dance competition, respectively.

Some offences committed with daughter

Some of Lim's latest offences were committed with her daughter, 29-year-old Jolene Cheang Wan Ling.

Lim and Cheang faced 13 and 12 charges respectively.

Cheang pleaded guilty to one count each of assault, criminal intimidation and being a public nuisance.

She was sentenced to five months’ jail and a fine of S$1,500. Cheang's bail has been set at S$20,000, and she is expected to begin serving her sentence in September.

Yelled at pre-school teacher and children

According to court documents seen by Mothership, on Sep. 24, 2026, at about 9:30am to 10:15am, a female pre-school teacher was bringing a group of children to board the lift at One Punggol community hub.

Lim and Cheang went up to them and began shouting and gesticulating.

Lim also shouted about alleged child abuse, amongst other things.

Two male passersby intervened to protect the teacher and the children from potential harm.

After the teacher and her students entered the lift, Lim and Cheang began chasing one of the passers-by with the intention to physically attack him.

Hit passerby on head multiple times

The other passer-by, a 32-year-old Singapore permanent resident (PR), tried to stop Lim and Cheang from hitting the man, but they turned their attention to him instead.

Both women grabbed the PR's arms before hitting him on the head with their hands multiple times.

The attack, which was captured on CCTV footage, only stopped when a mall security guard intervened.

The PR sought treatment at Sengkang Polyclinic on the same day, where he was found to have a scrape on his left forearm and bruising behind his right ear.

Shouted profanities in school compound

In a separate incident, the two women and Lim's husband brought Cheang's son to a preschool in Edgefield Plains, Punggol before 8:53am on Jul. 18, 2025.

While at the foyer, Lim and Cheang shouted profanities and gesticulated.

Several people heard the shouting, and at around 8:53am, a member of the public called the police.

History of conflict with security officers

According to court documents, Lim and Cheang had some previous conflict with the security officers at Sparkletots.

After sending Cheang's son into the school premises, the family walked towards the exit, and as they walked past the security officers, Lim and Cheang took out their phones and started taking videos of the security officers.

According to court documents, a 51-year-old security officer anticipated that the trio would cause trouble and switched on his body-worn camera.

Lim hurled vulgarities at the security officer.

Another 72-year-old security officer took out his mobile phone to record a video of the situation, and at some point, he remarked that the trio was "crazy".

Enraged, Cheang attempted to snatch his phone away and tried to take a photo or video of his security pass.

The officer called for assistance through his walkie-talkie.

Pulled domestic worker's hair

A couple who were taking their four-year-old son to another pre-school nearby heard the commotion.

The husband told Cheang not to use vulgarities, but instead of stopping, Cheang walked up to the wife and said: "f*ck you and this is not your problem". The husband called the police.

As Cheang and Lim were walking away from the situation, they bumped into a Filipino domestic worker who was taking her employer's son to the same preschool as Cheang's son.

According to court documents, the children had a past conflict.

Cheang and Lim tried to ask the domestic worker if they could speak to her employers, but she refused, and a scuffle arose.

Lim and Cheang proceeded to pull the domestic worker's hair, prompting eyewitnesses, including the 51-year-old security officer, to intervene.

Punched security officer and took body-worn camera

The security officer told Lim and Cheang that he had a body-worn camera recording the incident.

Lim grabbed the camera off the officer and punched him on his left ear; the S$210 camera was taken and has not been recovered.

The mother-daughter duo was arrested later that day and ordered to be remanded at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH).

Grabbed nurse's lanyard causing him to have breathing difficulties

On Jul. 20, 2025, while at IMH, Lim refused to return to her cubicle after speaking to Cheang as she was a co-accused.

A crisis alert team was activated soon after.

Lim was initially cooperative but turned aggressive after she heard Cheang screaming in the background.

Lim, who was lying down on her bed, kicked around before grabbing the lanyard of a 58-year-old Filipino nurse.

Lim grabbed the nurse's lanyard, causing him to have breathing difficulties until another staff nurse managed to intervene and break the lanyard.

Lim also scratched him on his left collarbone and bit him on his elbow.

IMH staff restrained Lim using restrainers and rapid tranquilisation.

The victim sought treatment and was diagnosed with neck tenderness with pain on breathing and swallowing; he was also diagnosed with a bite wound on his right elbow and left chest tenderness.

Threatened to kill nurse's family

In IMH, Cheang was allowed to have one physical visit per week by her next-of-kin.

She had initially requested a physical visit by her father, which was set to take place on Jul. 26, 2025.

However, on Jul. 24, 2025, she requested a tele-visit, which was approved but would therefore replace the physical visit that was scheduled.

Cheang requested the physical visit nonetheless, and on Jul. 26, 2025, at around 2:30pm, a 25-year-old female nurse explained to her that it was not possible.

Cheang, who was displeased, started banging her head against the wall.

She threatened the nurse and said: "If I am going out, I will go kill your family members".

“I want to talk to my father now or else you all wait.”

She repeated the threat multiple times.

Reoffended and stole items from supermarket

After their release from IMH, Lim and Cheang were offered bail but reoffended in August 2025.

They stole S$53.60 worth of items but made full restitution later.

However, on Mar. 27, 2026, they went to another preschool in Punggol, shouted and caused annoyance to the staff.

On Mar. 26, 2026, bail conditions were revised; Lim and Cheang were unable to furnish their bail and were remanded.

On Apr. 28, 2026, bail conditions for Cheang were revised and furnished.

Cheang has been on bail since.

A 17-year-old Singaporean boy was arrested for falsely claiming that his travel companions were in possession of a bomb and a vaporiser at Woodlands Checkpoint.

In a Facebook post on Aug. 18, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said the boy was referred to the police on Aug. 14 at about 10:45pm.

The boy had just cleared arrival immigration clearance at the arrival bus hall with two other companions when he allegedly pointed to them and made comments that they were in possession of a bomb and a vaporiser, respectively.

An ICA officer conducting profiling duties nearby heard the comments and immediately stopped them and referred them for further checks.

The checks established that they did not have the alleged items.

The boy was subsequently arrested for allegedly committing public nuisance.

Police investigations are ongoing.

ICA said it takes all reports made regarding security threats or contraband seriously.

It will not hesitate to take action against those who make false or misleading claims that cause unnecessary public alarm.

ICA also reminded travellers to observe rules, conduct themselves in an orderly manner and comply with officers’ instructions when using the checkpoints.

A large chunk of plaster fell from the ceiling of a Housing and Development Board unit in Yishun, where an 86-year-old woman was at home at the time.

Heard a loud crashing sound

According to Shin Min Daily News, the incident took place on Aug. 17 at a unit at Block 118 Yishun Ring Road.

The woman's son, surnamed Chen (transliteration), told the Chinese-language media that only his mother and wife were home when the incident happened.

At around 9am that morning, the pair heard a loud crashing sound coming from the kitchen bathroom.

When they went to investigate, they found that part of the ceiling above the sink had collapsed, with chunks of plaster scattered across the floor.

Chen said his mother usually uses the toilet at around the same time every morning.

Had she gone in a few minutes later that day, she could have been struck by the falling plaster, he said.

Ongoing renovation works

Aware that renovation works were being carried out in the flat above his unit, Chen decided to contact the authorities in hopes of getting the matter resolved, Shin Min reported.

At around 1:30pm, a man believed to be an employee from the authorities arrived to inspect the damage.

He took photographs of the affected area before heading upstairs to the unit above.

"They told me that once the renovations are finished, the contractor in charge of the renovations upstairs will coordinate with us," Chen said.

Chunk of plaster weighed about 2 to 3kg

According to Chen, the fallen piece of plaster was about 50cm long, 30cm wide and 5cm thick.

He also noticed that the steel reinforcement bars in the ceiling had been exposed after the plaster had fallen away.

Chen subsequently went upstairs to take a look and found several migrant workers carrying out renovation works in the unit.

He told them what had happened and asked if they could help him clear the fallen plaster.

They agreed and helped place the fallen plaster, which Chen estimated weighed about 2kg to 3kg, into a bag before taking it away for disposal.

"We've lived here for over 10 years, and this is the first time something like this has happened," Chen said. "Luckily, my mother wasn't hit. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

A Shin Min reporter who visited the block on Aug. 18 found a renovation notice posted near the HDB lift, stating that works were being carried out at the unit above.

According to the notice, the renovation works were scheduled from Aug. 11 to Sep. 9, with demolition works slated to take place from Aug. 11 to 13.

Cracks appeared in the ceiling of the master bedroom toilet

Chen also told Shin Min that small cracks began appearing in the ceiling of his master bedroom bathroom on the first day of the demolition works in the unit above.

"We started to worry then, and the kitchen bathroom was affected yesterday," he said.

He said the family remained concerned about loose plaster falling from the ceiling, but had no choice but to continue using the bathroom for the time being.

Chen added that he had asked the workers to remove some of the loose plaster in the kitchen bathroom area to reduce the risk of further pieces falling.

Speaking to Shin Min, the contractor carrying out the renovation works at the unit above said she was aware that pieces of plaster had fallen from the ceiling of the unit below.

She said the renovation works involved two bathrooms and a kitchen, with waterproofing works also being carried out in the bathrooms.

According to the contractor, Chen had contacted the renovation team about two or three weeks ago to report that the ceiling was starting to leak.

Although the renovation notice stated that demolition works would take place over three days, the contractor said it was completed on the first day.

She suspected that water from the leak had caused the plaster on the ceiling to become loose, making it prone to falling with even a slight impact.

"Nevertheless, we don't want to shirk our responsibility, and we will repair it free of charge after the renovation is completed," she said.

A 15-year-old female teenager has been arrested in relation to the false bomb threat at Xinmin Secondary School on Aug. 13.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) confirmed with Mothership on Aug. 18 that they arrested the teen.

Police investigations are ongoing.

False bomb threat

The police previously said they are investigating a case of communicating false information of a harmful thing after a false bomb threat incident at Xinmin Secondary School on Aug. 13.

In response to Mothership's queries, police said they were alerted to the incident at about 8:20am that day.

The police and school personnel conducted a thorough check on the premises, and no suspicious item was found, they said.

The offence of communicating false information of a harmful thing carries an imprisonment term of up to seven years, a fine which may extend to S$50,000, or both.

"The Police take all security threats seriously and will not hesitate to take action against those who intentionally communicate false information on bomb threats," they said.

A man, 79, died after he got into an accident with a car in the Orchard Road area on Aug. 11, 2026.

The police and Singapore Civil Defence Force said they were alerted to the accident at the junction of Grange Road and Paterson Road at about 6:45am.

The man was unconscious when he was conveyed to Singapore General Hospital, where he later died.

The police said a man, 46, was arrested for driving without due care and attention causing death.

Photos of the aftermath of the incident was shared on Facebook on Aug. 16.

One photo showed a man lying on the road and a paramedic was attending to him.

Another photo showed a traffic police signboard appealing for witnesses following the incident.

Elderly over-represented in pedestrian deaths

The annual Traffic Police (TP) figures in February 2026 showed that the elderly have been over-represented in pedestrian deaths.

The number of fatal accidents involving the elderly increased from 11 cases in 2024, to 27 cases in 2025.

This represented 75 per cent of the 36 pedestrian deaths in 2025, even though the elderly make up 12.9 per cent of Singapore’s overall population.