A driver on ride-sharing platform Gojek has been suspended after he was filmed repeatedly asking a female passenger inappropriate questions during the ride.

At one point, he also suggested engaging in a "threesome" with her.

1am ride

The incident occurred on Jul. 9 at about 1am, the passenger told Mothership.

She said she began filming the exchange after the conversation had gone on for 10 minutes as she "felt something was wrong".

The driver had also purportedly driven unusually slowly, she alleged.

According to a clip posted on Instagram, the driver could be heard asking the woman a series of personal questions, including: "Are you a virgin?"

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by huatyousay (@huatyousay)

He also made explicit suggestive and sexual remarks.

"Every time I go travel ah, one country one country I take girl eh," he said at one point.

He then suggested "doing threesome" with the woman and her partner, while claiming that "this is joking ah".

Driver has daughter the same age

Reflecting on the incident the next day, the woman said she had filed a complaint with Gojek.

She added that the driver had asked how old she was before stating that he had a daughter of the same age.

"You actually wanna have sex with someone who is your daughter's age?", the woman asked rhetorically.

"You are technically at work... that is a violation of workplace ethics."

She added that she went along with the conversation out of fear of her own safety.

"And I think that this is what a lot of women experience... we're just so afraid, like of what this man is gonna do," she said.

Gojek responds

In response to Mothership's queries, Gojek said it is aware of the video and is investigating the matter.

The driver has also been suspended from the platform in the meantime and appropriate actions will be taken based on the outcome of the investigation, it added.

"We take allegations of inappropriate conduct seriously.

We are committed to providing safe and comfortable rides for everyone on our platform."

From Jul. 18 to Aug. 29, 2026, DBS and POSB credit or debit card users will be able to enjoy up to S$6 off eggs and rice every Saturday when they pay with the bank's credit or debit cards at Sheng Siong or Giant supermarkets islandwide.

This is the first phase of DBS' S$10 million support measures, announced in April, to help ease cost pressures, the bank said in a Jul. 10 news release.

S$3 off rice and eggs on Saturdays

Each Saturday during the offer period, customers at Giant and Sheng Siong supermarkets can redeem S$3 off eggs and S$3 off rice when they pay with a DBS or POSB credit or debit card.

According to the DBS website, there is no minimum spend required.

Redemption is capped at one redemption per item per customer, per day.

The offer applies only to the following brands of eggs and rice at the two supermarkets.

At Giant:

• Eggs: Giant Farm Fresh Eggs (30s) (S$6.65)

  Rice: Giant Jasmine Fragrant Rice (5kg) (S$9)

At Sheng Siong:

• Eggs: Egg For You Fresh Eggs (30s) (S$6.65)

  Rice: Happy Family Fragrant Jasmine Rice (5kg) (S$10.50)

The promotion is not valid with other promotions, discounts, vouchers or CDC vouchers.

The promotion will be while stocks last.

Giant will restock on a weekly basis, while Sheng Siong will restock monthly.

"This year, we’ve expanded the offer to cover both Sheng Siong and Giant supermarkets, while increasing redemption quantities by more than threefold, so more can enjoy these savings,” said Calvin Ong, DBS Singapore head of consumer banking group.

Details on the campaign can be found here.

From September 2026 onwards, DBS will be offering S$3 cashback on PayLah!. More details to come, the bank said.

The bank introduced the cashback programme at selected hawker stalls and heartland shops in 2025.

A lawyer in Singapore has been struck off the rolls on Jul. 9, 2026, for lying to the police after a drink-driving accident in 2024.

At the time of the accident, Steven John Lam Kuet Keng gave two false statements to the police and claimed that someone else was at the wheel.

On Nov. 7, 2025, Lam was sentenced to eight weeks' jail and a fine of S$18,000. He was also disqualified from driving for six years.

The 56-year-old pleaded guilty to two counts of giving false information to a public servant, one count of drink driving and one count of careless driving.

Disciplinary proceedings

According to The Straits Times, after Lam's conviction, the Law Society of Singapore started disciplinary proceedings against him, as was required under the Legal Profession Act for cases involving dishonesty.

The Court of Three Judges, the legal profession's highest disciplinary body that has the power to suspend or disbar, heard Lam's case on Jul. 9.

The court comprised Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Justice Ang Cheng Hock and Justice Hri Kumar Nair.

The Law Society, represented by William Ong, submitted that striking off, a presumptive penalty, should apply to protect the public and uphold confidence in the legal profession's integrity.

Ong said the society recognised Lam’s long record of public service, but it was of little relevance in this case.

ST reported that Lam's lawyer, senior counsel Chelva Rajah, said Lam was remorseful and had made a grave error of judgment.

Rajah also urged the court to consider Lam's volunteer work, including his running of legal clinics.

No grounds for departing from presumptive striking off

The court said there were no grounds for departing from the presumptive penalty and ordered Lam to be struck off the rolls.

The judges acknowledged that Lam did not try to avoid the consequences of his error and that he had apologised for diminishing the profession's reputation, reported ST.

The judges also noted Lam's public service contribution record and said these would be kept in mind in the future if he applied to be reinstated as a lawyer, subject to meeting other considerations.

Lam was called to the Singapore Bar in 1996, but does not currently hold a practising certificate, reported ST.

He was appointed as a Justice of the Peace in 2023 and was a co-founder and director of Templars Law at the time of his offences.

In December 2025, his appointment was in the process of being revoked.

Crashed into guard railings

In the early hours of Apr. 7, 2024, Lam lost control of his vehicle along Bukit Panjang Road after a drinking session at a friend's place.

He admitted consuming about four or five cans of beer before driving home.

Mothership previously reported that he lost control of his car, mounted the right curb of the road divider and crashed into nine sections of the central guard railings.

He tried to leave the scene by flagging down a taxi, but was physically restrained by witnesses.

He proceeded to lie that an unknown friend was the driver to the traffic police twice, once at the scene of the accident and at the traffic police headquarters.

The proportion of alcohol in his breath was 61mcg of alcohol in every 100ml of breath.

This exceeded the prescribed limit of 35mcg of alcohol per 100ml of breath.

He was previously convicted of drink driving in 2006 as well.

A 40-year-old Indonesian man was sentenced to life imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane after attempting to smuggle more than 1kg of methamphetamine in women’s underwear he wore in Malaysia.

The man, identified as Amriadi, was sentenced on Jul. 9, New Straits Times reported.

Smuggle

The incident occurred on Oct. 11, 2024, at about 9:45am, at the Tawau Ferry Terminal.

Amriadi, who was a father of one and worked as a farmer in South Sulawesi in Indonesia, was detained at the passenger inspection area before he could board a ferry.

He was headed from the Tawau Ferry Terminal to the Nunukan Port in Indonesia.

A body search revealed he was wearing a black corset, with five packs of drugs hidden inside a pair of women's underwear he had on.

Another portion of the drugs was concealed in the soles of his shoes.

1,078.9g of methamphetamine was found on Amriadi.

Defiance

In mitigation, Amriadi’s lawyer noted he was a first-time offender who was remorseful.

Amriadi pleaded for leniency.

The prosecution argued that the weight of the seized drugs remained the primary factor to be considered in sentencing.

She further argued that a heavy deterrent sentence was warranted as public interest outweighed the personal interest of the accused.

In his verdict, the judge said Amriadi was caught while attempting to leave Malaysia.

He said Amriadi demonstrated defiance of Malaysia laws, despite knowing the risks of undergoing security checks at the Tawau Ferry Terminal.

In Malaysia, drug traffickers are liable to the death penalty or life imprisonment and a minimum of 12 strokes of the cane.

A paddleboarder died following a lightning strike at the Pasir Ris beach area on Jul. 5 at about 4:46pm.

In response to queries from Mothership, the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) said the lightning strike was detected when the main thunderstorm cloud was still a few kilometres away.

A total of 1,569 lightning strikes were observed that day, MSS added.

Thunderstorms developed near Yishun

According to MSS, thunderstorms that day began developing in the north of Singapore near the Yishun area at about 3:20pm and moved north-westwards.

Forecasts for thundery showers were issued for many locations in the west, central and north of Singapore, said MSS, which is under the National Environment Agency (NEA).

Subsequently, at around 4:30pm, thunderstorms developed around Punggol and moved westward away from Pasir Ris.

These further developed and intensified rapidly into a large cell which extended over the Straits of Johor, MSS said.

Several lightning strikes in north of Singapore

Based on NEA's lightning detection system, several lightning strikes were observed over the north of Singapore and the Straits of Johor, MSS said.

The data showed that only one lightning strike was detected at the Pasir Ris beach area at about 4:46pm, when the main thunderstorm cloud was still a few kilometres away.

At about 4:50pm, the police responded to a call where a man was apparently struck by lightning while paddleboarding at Pasir Ris Beach.

Mikhail Benyamin, a 24-year-old freelance sea sports instructor, was brought to Sengkang General Hospital, where he later died from his injuries.

Lightning can strike a distance away from the main thunderstorm cloud even when there are no showers, MSS explained.

Lightning alert

NEA provides a lightning information service through the myENV app and the weather information website.

By default, alerts will be triggered if cloud-to-ground lightning is detected and/or forecasts of thundery showers are issued within a 6km radius of the location for the next two hours, MSS said.

Following the initial alerts, notifications will also be sent when no lightning activity has been observed over the watch area for the past 30 minutes, or when thundery showers are no longer expected.

For the afternoon of Jul. 5, the forecast of thundery showers for the Pasir Ris town centre was issued at about 4:30pm and cloud-to-ground lightning was detected subsequently.

Depending on the settings selected in myENV, MSS said users would have received alerts for these events shortly after.

Singapore has high incidence of lightnings

Singapore has a high incidence of lightning, with an average of 176 lightning days per year, MSS said.

Data collected over the last 10 years showed that between 6,400 and 39,600 lightning strikes were detected over these areas in July, while the annual number of lightning strikes ranged from approximately 216,000 to 380,000.

"Our records do not indicate any discernible trend in lightning occurrences over the years," MSS said.

What is lightning?

"Lightning is a large electrical discharge produced by a thunderstorm cloud, whether over land, coastal, or sea areas," MSS said.

Locations in open spaces like fields, beaches, and parks are generally more at risk of lightning strikes due to the exposure and absence of lightning protection.

Tall structures may also be more susceptible to strikes as they provide a shorter path for charges to reach the ground, MSS said.

Here are some precautions to protect yourself:

A man in Taiwan has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after breaking into his ex-girlfriend's home in the middle of the night and repeatedly stabbing her new partner with a knife.

All of this happened while a young child slept in the same room.

The Taichung District Court found the defendant, surnamed Zheng, guilty of attempted murder, according to 8world.

What happened

The incident took place in the early hours of Jul. 13, 2022, at a residential property in Taichung, according to Taiwanese outlet ETtoday.

Reports mentioned that Zheng had called the victim earlier that night, demanding he spoke to him.

Zheng then broke into the home in the early hours of the morning and entered the room where the victim and a young child were asleep.

The victim told the court he was woken by sharp pain, only to find Zheng attacking him repeatedly with a machete.

He tried to fend off the blows with his bare hands, but sustained multiple stab wounds to his chest and limbs.

At one point, he could not breathe due to the severity of a chest injury.

Zheng continued the attack until the victim called out for help and alerted the police, at which point Zheng fled.

The victim was hospitalised with an open wound approximately 16cm long on his right chest, along with fractures, severed tendons and ruptured nerves.

Zheng fled, evaded police for years

After the attack, Zheng evaded authorities for several years before being arrested following a warrant, according to 8world.

Defendant denied intent to kill

During the trial, Zheng denied intending to kill the victim.

He claimed he had lost control after being provoked verbally, and that he had grabbed the machete from a friend's car on impulse, insisting he had not meant to cause death.

Court rejected his defence

The judge rejected Zheng's account, making a finding that carrying a machete, breaking into a home in the early hours of the morning, and launching an attack on an unguarded victim, demonstrated clear intent to kill.

According to 8world, photographs of the injuries showed wounds on the victim's chest and limbs so deep that his bone was visible.

The judge also noted that a young child had been present in the room during the attack, putting the child's safety at risk as well.

Zheng was sentenced to 12 years in prison for attempted murder.

The case may still be appealed.

On Saturday, Jul. 11, voters in Malaysia’s southernmost state of Johor will vote for their representatives in the state assembly, the legislatures that create and pass laws within the individual states.

The Barisan Nasional-led state executive council was not due to call for a new election until the middle of 2027, but has decided to pull the trigger almost a year early, leading to speculation about the political impact of the move, both locally and nationally.

With Johor being Singaporeans' second favourite place on earth (okay, maybe third if you take Japan into account), and a major source of labour for Singaporean businesses, what do you need to know about the elections?

Who are the players, and how did we get here?

A starting gun, not a bellwether

On Jun. 1, Johor's Menteri Besar (MB, Chief Minister) Onn Hafiz Ghazi dissolved the state assembly, setting the stage for the Jul. 11 polls after a month of suggesting that BN would contest all 56 seats without cooperating with its federal governing partner, Pakatan Harapan.

This has led to speculation that the elections are a starter pistol of sorts for the next general election (GE16), which BN has indicated it would likely contest alone, similar to what happened in 2022.

In the 2022 state election BN won 40 out of the 56 seats in Johor, a two-thirds majority, leading to predictions of a BN surge.

However this was not replicated on a national scale, with BN winning only 30 out of 222 seats, including only nine of Johor’s 26 parliamentary seats.

So state popularity is no sure sign of federal success, and federal unpopularity appears to be no barrier to state success.

This unity

Nonetheless, there are concerns over what BN’s decision to contest Johor alone will mean to the unity government formed between longtime foes Pakatan Harapan and BN’s Umno after 2022.

For the three and a half years, the unity government has worked amenably together, even contesting state elections on a combined platform.

But with a new GE required by Feb 2027, BN is likely using Johor to test the waters for what a post unity government Malaysia looks like, while simultaneously assuring the country that the unity government remains stable.

For example, on Jun. 7, Onn Hafiz swore that no matter the result, Johor BN “will never work” with PH’s largest party, the Democratic Action Party (DAP).

But a week later Onn Hafiz had a convivial public event with DAP leader and Transport Minister Anthony Loke, where Loke highlighted Johor’s reliance on his ministry’s support for projects like the cross-border RTS as well as local light rail.

The longevity of the unity government will depend on various factions being able to compartmentalise their politics from their policy agenda, but in May PH leader and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim warned that a failure to work together would leave him little choice but to call snap elections.

Re-form reform

Anwar’s PH faces a challenging time, having run in 2022 on a platform of reform and alleviating cost of living concerns.

Cost of living efforts were set back by the energy crisis caused by the US-Israel War on Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, something Anwar’s government could not predict nor prevent.

But his coalition has seen the departure of prominent figures such as former MUDA chief and Johor MP Syed Saddiq, and Anwar’s former right hand man and Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli.

Rafizi has gone on to start his own party, Bersama, and there are fears that he could siphon votes away from Anwar's coalition, allowing otherwise winnable seats for PH to fall to BN.

These concerns are particularly concentrated in the Chinese community.

On Jul. 9, 134 Chinese groups issued a statement urging out of state Johoreans to return home to vote, saying “giving up won’t change anything.”

Catalyst

UMNO and its chief minister are uniquely dominant in Johor, where it has fallen out of favour almost everywhere else in Malaysia.

It surely hopes that a strong showing can be a catalyst for its national fortunes, in spite of how things turned out previously.

Onn Hafiz is a prominent, relatively young leader in a time where UMNO’s leadership skews older, and has pedigree in the state: his great grandfather Onn Jaafar was also a Johor MB, and founded UMNO there.

He has made a name for himself pursuing economic growth and improving living conditions, often touting the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JSSEZ) as a path to economic growth, even speaking in Singapore on occasion to promote it to business leaders here.

On social media, he can be seen conducting surprise inspections of immigration staff to ensure that the crossing is as easy as possible for his constituents working in Singapore.

Unxodus

Singapore has been a hot topic in the election, although thankfully for relatively benign reasons.

According to Malaysian media, Johor natives working in places like Singapore and Kuala Lumpur (KL) have expressed their excitement to return home and cast their ballots on Jul. 11, some calling voting a “responsibility.”

Calls for offshore Johoreans to return home to vote appear to have become a key message of the authorities.

Malaysia’s immigration officials said a special taskforce has been set up to deal with expected traffic and potential disruptions at entry points between Singapore and Malaysia on polling day, with “dedicated lanes” for voters, said Malaysia's Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

“We will accommodate anything that can help facilitate Johor voters’ participation in the democratic process on polling day, to the best of our ability.”

Hundreds of thousands of Johoreans work in Singapore, with some residing there full time and many more taking the Causeway daily.

Some parties have also made explicit attempts to reach Malaysians outside of Johor.

In its Jul. 3 manifesto, the ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition outlined its proposed initiatives to make Johor the “Shenzhen” of Southeast Asia.

Among other initiatives to achieve this goal, it proposed a programme aimed at bringing 20,000 Malaysian professionals currently in Singapore back home to Johor by 2031, through job and entrepreneurship incentives.

Rafizi’s Bersama, meanwhile, is reportedly looking to organise an online event targeted at Johoreans in Singapore as part of its election campaign.

Non-interference

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he does not intend to contact Prime Minister Lawrence Wong for help facilitating offshore Johoreans’ return on polling day.

Responding to a question in parliament on Jul. 7, he said, “Our relationship with Singapore is very good, and this helps develop both countries.”

“But I generally do not ask other countries to interfere in Malaysia’s affairs, including voting in our country,” Anwar added.

Say it softly: Landslide?

Also in the mix is the opposition Perikatan Nasional coalition which has largely campaigned under the banner of Malay unity, despite the growing schism between its two main parties, Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) and Bersatu.

The coalition is only contesting 33 out of 56 seats, and has urged supporters to vote for BN where they are not running.

Based on this strategy, they have been accused of not “seriously contesting in Johor."

BN is expected to do well again this Saturday, with the most pessimistic predictions seeing BN retain the government with a slightly reduced majority, and the most optimistic seeing a near total sweep, reducing PH to a handful of seats.

Three chihuahuas were rescued from a house fire in Udon Thani, Thailand, on Jul. 8.

The blaze is suspected to have been sparked by an electric bicycle, which later spread to a parked car and a portion of the single-storey house.

Dog rescue

Firefighters were dispatched to the scene following an emergency call at around 4pm, according to Khaosod.

Upon arrival, emergency personnel found an electric bicycle in flames outside the house.

The fire had also spread to a car parked in the foyer.

Firefighters sprayed the vehicle with water to prevent the flames from breaching the main house structure.

Photo from ข่าวอุดร ข่าวโฮมเคเบิ้ล/Facebook

During the fire-fighting operation, neighbours informed the team that three dogs were trapped inside.

After taking 30 minutes to extinguish the fire, firefighters worked to ventilate and clear the property before starting the search for the dogs.

All three chihuahuas were found in a bedroom and safely carried out of the house one by one.

They were all visibly terrified and trembling after the ordeal.

Photo from ข่าวอุดร ข่าวโฮมเคเบิ้ล/Facebook

Loud bangs heard before fire

The homeowner was reportedly away from home working in another province at the time of the fire, leaving no one inside the house.

Neighbours recalled hearing loud bangs similar to firecrackers before smoke and flames erupted from the property.

They reportedly tried to put out the fire with a garden house before alerting other neighbours and calling emergency services.

The electric bicycle was completely destroyed, while the front half of the car sustained severe damage.

An air-conditioner compressor and a section of the house were also damaged.

Investigations into the exact cause of the fire are ongoing.

A 46-year-old man was sentenced to 15 months' jail after he physically assaulted his 11-year-old daughter.

He even pressed a karambit knife to her neck because she overslept and missed school.

The man faced 14 charges and pleaded guilty to four of them, including charges for criminal intimidation, voluntarily causing, and charges under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act, Shin Min Daily News reported.

The remaining charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

He cannot be identified as a gag order was imposed to protect the victim.

Overslept

Between September 2025 and October 2025, the accused’s daughter reportedly missed school as she overslept and woke up at about noon.

When he discovered that she did not attend school, he became angry and shouted at her.

He proceeded to grab his daughter by her hair and drag her out of her room.

The accused then slapped her once on her right cheek, and then used a rattan cane measuring about 47cm long to strike her legs about three to five times.

He went back to his room to retrieve a karambit knife and pressed its unsheathed blade on his daughter’s neck for about a minute.

He continued to scold her for a while before telling her to return to her room.

As she returned to her room, the accused followed her in and continued shouting.

He also struck her elbow with his knee.

His daughter did not seek medical attention.

Report

The incident came to light when the accused’s elder daughter called the police over another matter.

The nature of that matter was not disclosed.

During investigations, the police uncovered the younger daughter’s ordeal.

A Singaporean trainee surgeon has pleaded guilty in Australia to secretly filming hundreds of female colleagues while they used toilets and showers in three major Melbourne hospitals.

According to The Straits Times, on Jul. 9, Ryan Cho, 28, pleaded guilty to all 13 charges, including stalking, producing an intimate image, and installing an optical surveillance device.

Cho committed the crimes at the Austin Hospital, Royal Melbourne Hospital and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre between 2021 and 2025 after graduating from Monash University.

Cho initially faced more than 900 charges, but Australian prosecutors and defence lawyers agreed to combine them into 13 charges, according to ST.

After the 30-minute hearing on Jul. 9, Cho was released on bail.

Australian Magistrate Michelle Mykytowycz also acknowledged the victims who attended the session both in-person and online.

Crimes involved production of thousands of intimate images

Cho's crimes involved the production of thousands of intimate images and videos of several hundred victims.

According to ABC News, he also secretly filmed a former housemate.

Mothership previously reported that Cho was arrested in 2025 after one of his cameras was discovered in a restricted staff toilet at the Austin Hospital.

He was found with 4,500 intimate videos of at least 460 alleged victims.

One of the laptop hard drives seized from Cho contained 10,374 videos and images.

Free on strict bail conditions

According to ABC News, Cho has been on bail for around a year and had been living with his parents, who put up an A$50,000 (S$44,840) surety.

He has been required to complete compulsory medical treatment and is banned from attending hospitals unless in an emergency.

According to ST, Cho's parents had previously told the court that one or both of them would live in Melbourne for the duration of the proceedings to support their son and his compliance with bail conditions.

Cho's strict bail conditions include reporting to police three times a week, no contact with any witnesses or potential witnesses, and not having access to photographic or video devices outside of his home.

The court heard that he had already surrendered his passport.

ST reported that his next court appearance is on Nov. 23 and marks the start of a three-day pre-sentence hearing in Melbourne's County Court, where he is expected to hear his victims' impact statements.

Around 100 victims, mostly women, have reportedly lodged human rights complaints against the three hospitals where Cho worked on the grounds of sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace.