A tree fell onto several cars along Loewen Road in the Dempsey area at about 10am on Aug. 22, damaging at least two vehicles.

Crushed the roof of a Nissan MPV

A video provided to Mothership by a reader showed that a tree had fallen onto a white Nissan multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), crushing the roof above the middle row of seats.

A separate photo showed a parked blue BMW that was also damaged, with parts of the tree on its bonnet.

According to the reader, she was waiting in her car for her daughter to finish her dance class when she heard a loud cracking sound.

Looking behind, she said she saw the base of the tree split in two before it slowly toppled.

Her first thought was to pray that the tree would not fall on her as her car was parked directly in front of it, she said.

After the tree fell, she got out of her car and saw two young children trapped underneath it.

Thankfully, the children were freed with minor scratches and their father took them away, she said.

The reader then heard people shouting from the other side of the fallen tree and saw that a driver was trapped in his car, prompting her to call 999 for help.

Speaking to The Straits Times (ST), the 60-year-old driver of the Nissan said he was turning out of the Museum of Ice Cream in Loewen Road when he heard a loud crackling sound.

Upon looking up, he saw the tree, which was on the left side of his vehicle, slowly toppling in front of him.

The driver said he tried to reverse, but part of the tree had already fallen onto the passenger side of the vehicle, crushing the roof.

Unable to open the door from within, he was subsequently trapped inside the car.

Fortunately, employees from a nearby spa later went out and helped to free him from the driver's seat.

The driver was not injured.

No major injuries reported

In response to Mothership's queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that no ambulance assistance was required.

In a media statement, the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) said it was aware of the fallen tree along Loewen Road and had responded to the incident with relevant stakeholders and agencies.

"The immediate priority is to ensure public safety, secure the affected area and facilitate the safe removal of the fallen tree to minimise disruption," SLA said.

No major injuries were reported from the incident, it added.

SLA said it and the relevant stakeholders and agencies will assess the circumstances surrounding the incident and determine any necessary follow-up measures, including checks on surrounding trees where appropriate.

All other locations in Dempsey remain accessible, SLA said.

It thanked the public for their patience and cooperation while the necessary works are carried out.

"You can't just go and touch other people's children," former actor Huang Yiliang said in a recent interview with 8days, weighing in on the altercation at Roxy Square coffee shop on Aug. 15.

The incident involved 73-year-old wanton mee stall owner Yeo Song Khoon, who was thrown to the ground by a 40-year-old man, after Yeo patted the man’s young daughter on the head.

"Times are different"

Huang said he understood why parents might be uncomfortable with strangers touching their children, but said the girl’s father had "overreacted" by resorting to violence.

"Times are different, you can't just casually touch someone else's kid," he told 8days, adding that he would not want strangers touching his own children either.

"If you come and kiss and hold my child saying, 'So cute', please go brush your teeth and wash your face," he said.

"People these days, (if you go up to their child) and say 'So cute' (while touching them), they'll hate it too."

Huang said that as a father of two, he is also not too comfortable with other people touching his children.

When asked if he would pat a customer’s child on the head if he found the child cute, the 64-year-old, who owns a seafood stall at Circuit Road Hawker Centre, told 8days he would refrain from doing so.

"However, it’s a different story if the kid is very cute and comes up to hug me first. And if the kid’s mum also tells the kid to let me hug them, only then will I hug the kid," he said.

@8dayssg Let’s just say, he’s a protective dad. #8dayssg #8dayssglocalent #child #father #fypsg ♬ Best for video background music Chill Trap Hip Hop(837066) - KIh

Background

The Roxy Square coffee shop incident was first shared on Aug. 15 on the Facebook and Instagram pages of Bei-Ing Wanton Noodle.

CCTV footage showed Yeo patting a young girl on the head before her mother appeared to stop him.

The girl's father then rushed over, grabbed Yeo by the arm and swung him around, causing him to fall to the ground.

According to his family, Yeo, who has been selling wanton noodles at the stall for more than 40 years, suffered a fracture to his back following the incident.

He returned to work at his stall on Aug. 20.

When Mothership visited the stall the following day, at around lunchtime, Yeo was seated at the stall and taking orders.

Among the customers were well-wishers who went to check on Yeo and offer their support.

One customer also brought his one-year-old daughter to the stall, hoping to encourage Yeo to interact with young children and to check in on him.

A total of 17 errant cyclists and one personal mobility device (PMD) user were caught for various offences and issued composition fines following a joint enforcement operation by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and Land Transport Authority (LTA) in the vicinity of Jalan Anak Bukit and West Coast Highway on Aug. 14, 2026.

It was previously reported that a group of cyclists were seen being stopped by the authorities along West Coast Highway in the early hours of Aug. 15.

During the operation, a total of 26 offences were detected, SPF said in an Aug. 23 news release.

Traffic Police (TP) and LTA officers also engaged cyclists and PMD users to raise awareness on cycling and PMD rules and guidelines.

Summon action

One bicycle was seized and investigations are ongoing after an individual was caught riding a fixed-gear bicycle on a public path without a working handbrake.

One PMD was seized and investigations are ongoing after the rider rode a non-compliant and unregistered PMD on a public path.

Summon action was taken against 13 individuals for using a bicycle on a road during the hours of darkness without displaying the required white light at the front and/ or red light or red reflector at the rear.

In addition, summon action was also taken against 10 individuals for riding a bicycle on a road without wearing a protective bicycle helmet.

The release said: "The authorities take a serious view of such offences that endanger public safety and contravene the law."

"Cyclists and PMD users are strongly advised to comply with all regulations and practise safe riding habits," it added.

A 66-year-old Singaporean man was sentenced to six months and one week’s jail for spraying insecticide at a flame to burn his 66-year-old roommate, and in a separate case, stealing a pair of slippers belonging to an 11-year-old girl at a tuition centre.

Or Yong Soon faced seven charges, including voluntarily causing hurt, criminal intimidation, mischief, acting and theft.

He pleaded guilty to three charges and was sentenced on Aug. 18.

The remaining charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

Dispute

In court documents seen by Mothership, Or and his roommate, identified as "Steven Tan", lived in a rental flat at Block 208A Woodleigh Link.

On Mar. 22, between 11am and 2:25pm, both men got into a dispute over living arrangements.

Or grabbed an aerosol spray can containing insecticide, sprayed it toward a lighter to create a flame, and directed it toward Tan.

Tan sustained burns to his right hand and forearm.

The injury was reportedly about 20cm long and 5cm wide, extending from the knuckles to the middle of the forearm.

Tan was later given five days of medical leave.

Or also used an aerosol spray can and an open flame from the lighter to burn Tan’s umbrella.

The burnt umbrella was later retrieved from the ground floor.

Or admitted to throwing the umbrella out of the flat’s window.

Theft

On Nov. 2, 2025, at about 2:07pm, police were alerted to a report that a pair of slippers valued at about S$50 had been stolen from a tuition centre at Woodleigh.

Officers from Woodleigh Neighbourhood Police Centre were dispatched to the incident location.

The tuition centre owner told officers that earlier that day, at about 11:35am, qn 11-year-old girl reported that her pair of “Adidas” brand black slippers was missing.

She had left her slippers outside the entrance area of the learning centre.

The owner checked surveillance footage and observed Or loitering near the tuition centre.

Or was seen exchanging his slippers with the girl’s slippers.

He then subsequently walked away from the tuition centre with the victim’s slippers.

Depression

The prosecution sought five to six months' jail for Or.

They argued that the injuries caused would have resulted in Tan suffering from “some disamenities caused by the second-degree burn”.

The prosecution also cited Or's prior offence in 2002 and another offence in 1981.

“The antecedents can be considered dated. The value of the item stolen is not particularly high,” they said.

The prosecution highlighted that Or suffers from mild major depressive disorder, which “increased his frustration and irritability as well as capacity to exercise self-control and restraint”.

“He was assessed to be able to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct,” they added.

According to Sinchew Daily, a video circulating online showed a woman storming into a primary school before confronting a student.

The video is around two and a half minutes long.

She is shown pinning him to the ground while holding his wrist and pulling his collar. According to Sinchew, the woman demanded to know why he had bullied her child. The student can be heard claiming that her child had scolded him "babi" first.

She also repeatedly said that "using force is wrong", and the video cuts off when the woman realises students were filming her and asks them to delete the video.

According to Sinchew, the video of the bullying, where a student, thought to be the boy the mother had confronted, can be seen hitting the other student with a badminton racket has also gone viral.

The police are investigating the matter, saying both parties filed police reports.

After receiving cupping therapy at a wellness centre, a Singapore woman discovered that the bruising from the session did not fade.

Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, Wu (transliteration) said she had been suffering from neck and shoulder pain for many years.

On Aug. 13 at around 5pm, she decided to head to a wellness centre near Blk 254A Serangoon Central.

The 46-year-old shared that she passed by the wellness centre that day and decided to try a moxibustion treatment for S$99 as a promotional offer, hoping it would relieve her aches.

Never done before

After the treatment, a staff member from the wellness centre recommended a "scraping" therapy as her "meridans" needed to be stimulated, Wu said.

Wu shared that she had never tried moxibustion before and had no idea what the "scraping" therapy, also known as "pai sha", was, Shin Min Daily News reported.

The staff did not explain the process to her before they apparently took out a wooden board and tapped her legs.

Wu described the pain as similar to a woman being punished in an ancient Chinese drama.

The whole session lasted about 10 minutes, and after that, her legs were in pain, and she could barely stand.

"If I had known it would turn out like this, I definitely would not have agreed to the treatment," she said.

Bruising all over her leg

When Wu returned home, she was shocked to see her legs were covered with large, dark purple bruises.

The pain was apparently so severe that she had difficulty showering and bending her legs.

She also had to wear long pants to cover the bruises, despite the hot weather.

When a Shin Min Daily News reporter called the wellness centre, the manager shared that they had apologised to Wu several times after the incident and were willing to provide free follow-up treatments to help her recover.

The manager explained that while they did not explain it to Wu beforehand, they did explain the procedure during the session, saying it was intended to help expel stagnant blood.

"As she did not indicate that she wanted to stop, we continued with the treatment," said the manager.

Wu's bruises still had not faded by Aug. 17, said Shin Min Daily News.

Wu hopes that her experience will remind the public to understand the details of the treatment and procedures before they carry them out.

Japanese police in Fukuoka have launched an investigation after a 25-year-old Nepalese woman was found dead in the Nakagawa river with head injuries on Aug. 19.

According to Japanese media, Rajbanshi Laxmi had arrived in Japan in May 2023.

Bloodstains and signs of a struggle were also found in her apartment, which has led investigators to conclude she was a victim of a homicide.

While an autopsy could not find the cause of death, she was found to have sustained multiple injuries to her head and forehead that were inflicted by an object.

Had been working part-time while attending a Japanese language school

Laxmi had been studying at a Japanese language school while working part-time at a restaurant.

A classmate of Laxmi expressed sadness at her death and noted that she had been good at making TikToks.

She was last seen on Aug. 18 at about 10:30pm by a co-worker who saw her leaving the restaurant she worked at on a bicycle, Japan Today reported.

Her body was discovered at about 5:45am on Aug. 19, floating face down in the river, wearing a shirt and shorts but no shoes.

No personal belongings were found on her either.

A resident in the vicinity was quoted as saying that they had heard something big falling into the river.

Investigators believe the perpetrator had attacked Laxmi with a strong intent to kill and are continuing their investigation.

Her apartment did not show any signs of being ransacked or broken into.

A 21-year-old man was found dead at the entrance of a car park.

A coroner's inquiry into his death then revealed that shortly before his death, the man and his then 16-year-old girlfriend both took drugs and etomidate vaporiser pods (Kpods).

It was later revealed that the pair planned to end their lives together by taking large amounts of drugs.

Car park of a shopping mall

According to Shin Min Daily News, the incident happened on Jun. 24, 2025, at around 6:35am.

The investigating officer said that a mall security guard found a mobile phone and a white baseball cap at the car park entrance of a mall in Novena early in the morning.

The guard then found the man, Lim Yong Xiang (transliteration), lying motionless behind a signboard, and he alerted the police.

When the paramedics arrived, Lim's body was stiff, and his pupils were dilated.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

On parole

Shin Min Daily News reported that investigations revealed that Lim lived with his mother, grandmother, and older brother.

He had also been released on parole in May 2024 and was required to wear an electronic monitoring device.

On Jun. 23, Lim had dinner with his family before spending time with his then-16-year-old girlfriend at his house.

His girlfriend noticed Lim's body shaking violently, leading her to believe he was using Kpods.

Lim then invited his girlfriend to take a large amount of drugs with him to end their lives, and she agreed.

The two then consumed methamphetamine while Lim also smoked some Kpods.

The pair later left Lim's home with the intention of withdrawing money from an ATM before heading to Geylang to buy more drugs.

They were staggering as they walked, and Lim collapsed and lost consciousness several times along the way, but he would regain consciousness and continue walking, said Shin Min Daily News.

At around 3am, the two arrived at the mall and sat by the road.

At around 3:11am, Lim lay down and stopped moving.

His girlfriend was frightened and lingered before leaving, saying she was going to get help.

Suicide pact

Before the incident, Lim's girlfriend had apparently told an online acquaintance that the pair planned to end their lives by taking large quantities of drugs, said Shin Min Daily News.

The acquaintance became concerned and went with a relative to check on Lim's home.

However, no one answered, and they decided to call the police.

Investigating officers said the police also found conversations between the girlfriend and the online acquaintance where the girlfriend said that Lim was lying motionless on the ground.

The girlfriend also asked the acquaintance to call the police because she was too frightened and unsure of what to do.

Drug overdose

The investigating officer said the girlfriend did not know where Lim got the drugs, but recalled him saying he got the money to buy drugs by illegally selling personal bank accounts on Telegram to make a "quick buck".

The officer added that Lim had been diagnosed with severe depression and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in 2019, and insomnia and anxiety.

Lim had been taken to hospital several times before after overdosing on medication or drugs.

It was ultimately determined that Lim died from an overdose of drugs, Shin Min Daily News wrote.

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

National Mindline 1771: 1771

SOS 24-hour Hotline: 1-767

Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019

Tinkle Friend: 1800-274-4788 (for primary school-aged children)

SHECARES@SCWO: Call: 8001 01 4616 | WhatsApp: 6571 4400 (for targets of online harms)

A 28-year-old woman filed a false police report after she became upset that her boyfriend, a 60-year-old bus driver did not spend time with her while he was driving.

According to Shin Min Daily News, Tang Pei Si (transliteration from Mandarin) claimed to the police that her boyfriend had stolen money from her and assaulted her.

He was forced to stop the bus as a result, disrupting the passengers on the bus.

Tang pleaded guilty to one charge of filing a false report on Aug. 21, and was sentenced to four days in jail.

Tried to prevent him from leaving just before he started work

Investigations revealed that at the time of the false police report, on Oct, 6, 2024, Tang and her boyfriend had been dating for about 10 years.

Her boyfriend worked as a bus driver at Hougang bus interchange and would commute daily from Malaysia to Singapore by motorcycle.

If his shift was in the afternoon, he would bring lunch for Tang, as she faced financial difficulties, and eat with her at the interchange.

On the day of the incident, she arrived at the interchange at 2pm for him to bring her lunch. However, as it was raining, he only arrived at about 2:25pm.

After lunch together, he prepared to go to work. However, Tang pulled at his uniform and prevented him from leaving as she was angry that he did not have time for her.

In addition, prior to Oct. 6, 2024, Tang had just returned the S$400 that she had borrowed from her boyfriend. However, she regretted it and asked for it back as she wanted to spend the money on clothes and shoes.

Her boyfriend refused, which made her unhappy.

Boarded the bus he drove and made a scene

At about 2:43pm, Tang boarded bus service 112, driven by her boyfriend.

She sat on the front seat, but was ignored.

Tang became increasingly irate about being "abandoned" at the interchange and the S$400 and she subsequently called the police, claiming that the bus driver had stolen S$400 from her, hit her and twisted her left hand.

As a result of her report, her boyfriend was forced to stop the bus and wait for officers to arrive.

The three passengers onboard the bus also had to disembark and wait for the next bus.

She eventually admitted during police investigations that she had filed a false report due to a personal relationship dispute.

A Singapore Police Force (SPF) car caught on fire along the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE), resulting in two officers being sent to the hospital for smoke inhalation.

In a Facebook post, a vehicle was seen parked along the slip road into the Seletar Expressway (SLE) on Aug. 21.

The vehicle was engulfed in flames.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force later arrived and extinguished the fire.

In response to Mothership's queries, the SPF said that a police vehicle caught fire along BKE towards Woodlands, at a slip road into SLE on Aug. 21 at around 12:10am.

Two traffic police officers were patrolling when they noticed smoke emitting from the engine compartment, and they immediately evacuated.

The two officers, along with a member of the public, tried to put out the fire.

Both officers were then conveyed conscious to the hospital for smoke inhalation.

Mothership understands that both have been discharged.

SPF said the cause of the fire is under investigation.