Some academics from the National University of Singapore (NUS) who were acknowledged in a working paper alleging that civil servants had engaged in "informed trading" of homes near unannounced MRT stations clarified that they were not involved in the paper’s research, and comments may have been made long ago at seminars.

At least one of the professors has shared that he has asked for the mention of his name to be removed.

The working paper, titled "Do Social Norms Substitute For Enforcement? Evidence from Public Officials' Home Purchases in Singapore", was published by American non-profit National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).

In it, the authors said they found a pattern of mid-level civil servants in Singapore "disproportionately" purchasing homes near unannounced MRT stations, one to two years before the stations’ locations were made public.

A spokesperson for the Public Service Division (PSD), an agency under the Prime Minister's Office, has said that PSD is aware of the paper and its findings.

The spokesperson also said that PSD is reviewing the paper and will refer to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau if there is a "material basis to do so".

Comment might have been made long ago at seminars

In the paper's preface, the authors — who are affiliated with Stanford University, Columbia University and the University of Hong Kong — thanked a list of individuals whom they said they had discussions with from which they  "benefitted immensely".

Some of the individuals they thanked were participants at a seminar.

These included several professors from NUS as well as professors from Harvard like Li Shengwu and Jesse Shapiro.

When contacted by Mothership, Wenlan Qian, who is Director at NUS' Institute of Real Estate and Urban Studies, said that she is not involved in the paper in any capacity and directed questions to the paper's authors.

Another of the mentioned professors, Sumit Agarwal, similarly referred questions to the paper's authors, according to CNA.

Bernard Yeung, Emeritus Professor at NUS Business School, told Mothership that he was not involved in the working paper's research.

Yeung also explained that in the profession, academics listen to seminars and raise questions or comments.

"If our comments or questions are good, authors may thank us in their papers’ front page. They do not have to inform us if they do that," Yeung said.

He added that he does not remember his questions or comments.

David Reeb, an NUS professor, gave a similar explanation.

Reeb shared that he had published research on informed trading in the U.S. in the past, so the working paper's topic is within his area of research.

His inclusion in the working paper's acknowledgment suggests that he did ask a question or make a comment on the topic, but he can no longer remember what it was.

He suggested that this would have been a long time ago, likely around a decade, and before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Reeb clarified that he had no involvement in the data, analysis or writing of the NBER working paper.

Ivan Png, who is Distinguished Professor at NUS, told Mothership that he does not know the co-authors and have not discussed their work on housing purchases with them.

Png also said that he was puzzled to have been thanked, given that he had not commented or contributed to the work in any way.

He shared he has since written to the working paper's first author, but has not heard back.

Another of the professors, Jessica Pan, who is NUS' Vice Provost of Graduate Education, shared with CNA that her name appeared by mistake and has similarly asked for mentions of her name to be removed.

Mothership has reached out to Jessica Pan, Sumit Agarwal and the paper's authors for comments.

Mothership has also reached out to several other professors thanked by the paper's authors, including Li Shengwu, for comments.

Singapore's Ministry of Education (MOE) is building on ongoing efforts to adjust and manage teachers' workload, so they can spend more time on teaching and interacting with students.

As part of these efforts, MOE is looking into the possibility of allowing teachers to focus on two of these three responsibilities beyond classroom teaching: form teachership, co-curricular activities (CCAs), and committee work.

Recalibrating teachers' workload

Speaking at MOE Schools Work Plan Seminar on Sep. 16, Education Minister Desmond Lee said teachers today have to juggle a range of responsibilities beyond lesson delivery, from supporting diverse student needs and counselling, to parent engagement, administrative duties, CCAs, and committee work.

According to MOE, committee work includes student development, staff development, partnerships, and timetabling.

"Many teachers have told us that switching constantly between different responsibilities takes not just time, but also mental bandwidth," said Lee.

As such, MOE is studying whether teachers could focus on two of the three areas, taking into account the needs of each school as well as the teachers’ strengths and interests.

This will allow teachers to devote more of their time and attention to classroom practice and deeper interactions with students.

Though schools have received additional support, including more allied educators and administrative staff, the ministry wants to take a step further to better organise teachers' work, said Lee.

This includes looking at how schools can draw more deliberately on coaches, instructors, non-teaching staff, and external partners to support CCAs and student development programmes, including administrative duties.

Flexible learning spaces and smaller classes

MOE is also exploring how existing school spaces can be adapted to support learning.

Future classrooms could include mobile and modular furniture that can be reconfigured easily, spaces for both whole-class and small-group learning, and technology-enabled environments that allow smoother transitions between physical and digital learning, said Lee.

He cited Queenstown Secondary School as an example, noting how flexible furniture and varied seating arrangements in their classrooms help to support different teaching approaches.

MOE is also examining where smaller classes could make the greatest difference to teaching and learning.

Smaller classes can allow teachers to better cater to individual learning needs, and create more engaging and effective learning environments, Lee said.

However, he noted that this would have to be part of a broader redesign of teaching and learning.

"Smaller classes do not automatically mean less working load. Smaller classes may mean teachers take on more teaching," he said, adding that such changes will therefore have to be implemented in a sustainable manner.

New platform for teachers

MOE will also continue to leverage technology to strengthen teachers’ professional work and simplify routine processes.

An example of such an effort is the Teacher Workspace.

Teacher Workspace is a platform that brings together key student information, tools, and workflows that teachers use on a regular basis.

As such, this reduces the need for teachers to navigate between different digital systems and gives them a more holistic view of each student's needs and development.

The platform will be rolled out to all MOE schools by 2027, and more features will be introduced progressively, announced Lee.

Learner-centred teaching approaches, feedback processes

Building on strong foundations in academic and 21st Century Competencies (21CC) domains, MOE will also strengthen learner-centred teaching approaches, such as inquiry-based and collaborative learning.

"Preparing students for the future is not only about what they learn," said Lee. "It is also about how they learn."

He said students will need to go beyond acquiring subject knowledge to synthesise and apply what they know, tackle authentic and open-ended problems, and take greater ownership of their learning.

At Telok Kurau Primary School, for example, students applied science concepts to redesign the school’s outdoor garden shed into a better learning environment.

MOE will also review how teachers can provide more purposeful feedback to students.

This includes giving teachers clearer guidance on the forms of marking that best support learning, as well as examining how technology can augment the feedback process.

Moves to be piloted in six schools

All these measures are part of two shifts MOE will make to strengthen holistic development and prepare students for a more uncertain future: reimagining learning and redesigning classrooms.

The shifts will be piloted in six schools from January 2027: St. Anthony's Canossian, Woodgrove and Zhangde Primary Schools, as well as Commonwealth, Deyi and Jurongville Secondary Schools.

"This is a complex pilot, so we will proceed carefully," Lee said, adding that MOE will work closely with the six pilot schools to provide guidance and support.

The ministry will also assess what can be learnt from the pilots before considering how the approaches can be applied more widely across schools.

Tower Transit Singapore is thanking three passengers on board a bus and a commuter at a bus stop after they helped a bus captain who became unresponsive while driving in Hougang.

Their actions were commended in a Sep. 15 Facebook post, which stated that the incident took place the day before.

Passengers helped unresponsive driver

A bus captain on service 854 became unresponsive after experiencing a sudden medical emergency at the wheel as the bus approached a stop along Hougang Ave 3.

One man at the bus stop who saw the driver slumped in the cabin banged on the doors to draw attention to the situation.

Passengers on board then rushed to help, where one checked on the driver and another called an ambulance.

A third passenger climbed into the driver's seat and engaged the handbrake to bring the bus safely to a stop.

Driver in stable condition

The post added that a nearby SBS Transit bus captain also stepped in to alert the control centre while the passenger who stopped the bus explained the situation.

"Thanks to them, all the passengers were safe and our bus captain is now in stable condition and receiving care," the post read.

"To the vigilant commuter at the bus stop, the quick-thinking passengers, and the helpful SBS Transit Ltd bus captain, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

"If this was you, please DM us or call our hotline. We'd love the chance to thank you properly."

Singapore is rewarding Singaporeans for reading.

The gamification strategy was reported by CNN and The Guardian on Sep. 15, 2026.

The objective is to get people to read for at least 15 minutes a day and to log their daily progress over time to cultivate the habit.

ReadSG Challenge by NLB

The ReadSG Challenge is by the National Library Board (NLB) and run on the citizen engagement platform, CrowdTask SG.

The ReadSG movement was launched on Sep. 6, The Straits Times reported.

It is a national reading initiative that invites Singaporeans to rediscover the joy of reading through a simple daily reading habit, according to the campaign objective.

It is being piloted from Sep. 6 to Dec. 31, 2026.

New features and enhancements will be introduced based on feedback.

How it works

Under the scheme, readers accrue points.

The points, when amassed, have a cash value and can be used for purchases at participating merchants.

People are allowed to log one session a day on the CrowdTask SG site to declare they have read for at least 15 minutes in a 24-hour period.

A session of 15 minutes or more is rewarded with 20 virtual coins.

A total of 1,000 coins is equivalent to S$1.

It takes 50 consecutive days of logging in to accumulate 1,000 coins.

Each session is successfully logged via self-reporting.

It is essentially an honour system.

Singaporeans can sign up with Singpass.

NLB's chief executive, Melissa Tam, said the movement comes at a time when people may spend less time engaging deeply with what they read due to an abundance of content and information.

“We live in a world of extraordinary abundance, of content, information and stimulation,” she said. “At any moment, we can scroll through hundreds of headlines, watch a video or get a summary of almost anything.”

She added: “We know that habits are built through small, consistent actions. So, we are starting with a simple goal – just read for 15 minutes a day. On the bus, before bed or over lunch.”

Ever since July, something has been brewing in Malaysia regarding the management and operations of Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH), Malaysia’s Haj pilgrims fund board.

In 2018, the Malaysian taxpayer was required to rescue TH after it was discovered to have been misreporting its assets and liabilities, and paid out dividends despite its liabilities exceeding its assets.

The scandal has reignited after lying dormant for a number of years, with the release of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report that was said to have been completed in July 2022.

The report’s release in July 2026 has led to several arrests, including one former government minister, and relates to the misuse of RM 860 million (S$269 million) in TH funds.

So what is Tabung Haji, what happened to its funds, and why is the incident resurfacing now?

What is Tabung Haji?

The Haj is a sacred pilgrimage, expected of observant Muslims and, to oversimplify, requires pilgrims to travel to Mecca in Saudi Arabia in the final month of the Islamic calendar at least once in their lives.

This is a journey that, again to oversimplify, takes considerable financial resources to accomplish.

Malaysia, being a majority Muslim country, has a large number of citizens seeking to make the pilgrimage from all strata of its wealth distribution.

In order to make the Haj accessible for as many Malaysians as possible, the predecessor to Lembaga Tabung Haji was established in 1963.

Malaysians going on Haj are required to open a savings account with TH, and one of the primary functions of TH is to administer and invest those funds using Islamic principles.

The size of the fund is considerable, the Malay Mail reports that as of 2024, TH had 9.55 million depositors with a total of RM91.747 billion (S$28.56 billion) worth of deposits.

So why is it the subject of scrutiny?

However, in 2018, it was revealed that TH’s liabilities were higher than its assets, and it had been illegally paying dividends in the four years prior to 2017.

Instead of the RM3.4 billion (S$1.12 billion) net profit it had reported for 2017, it was actually facing a RM1.4 billion (S$0.46 billion) net loss, due in part to "creative accounting practices" the RCI would later report.

The then Pakatan Harapan government led by Mahathir Mohamad announced that it would bear a RM 10.3 billion (S$3.4 billion) premium to save TH, and the fund would be restructured.

The RCI would later find that there were “irregular investment processes involving the manipulation of investment sustainability reports, creative accounting practices, misleading representations, and the concealment of information”, The Edge quoted Minister of Finance II Amir Hamza’s speech to parliament on Aug. 11.

These were among the causes of nearly RM13 billion (S$4 billion) in losses due to problematic investment decisions made before 2018.

It also determined that the government's 2018 intervention saved the fund, but at the cost of RM 10.2 billion, a price that was “ultimately borne by depositors, taxpayers, and all Malaysians.”

The Royal Commission of Inquiry

The Malay Mail reports that in 2020, the government of Muhyiddin Yassin decided that an RCI was needed, and by August 2022, the RCI's report was presented to Malaysia's king.

By then, Ismail Sabri Yaakob had become PM, and he called for fresh elections in October 2022, before the RCI’s report had been released to the public.

After the election, the Madani government of Anwar Ibrahim took over, but declined to release the report until July 2026, ostensibly as the government was concerned that the report might cause depositors to panic and withdraw their savings.

Ismail Sabri, whose party UMNO was in government at the time of the report’s completion and during the period of the TH’s mismanagement, for his part said UMNO had “nothing to hide”.

He said it was during UMNO’s time in government that the probe was initiated (UMNO was a junior partner in government during Muhyiddin’s premiership, and the senior partner when Ismail Sabri became PM).

This came as there was a robust back-and-forth between MPs in the Dewan Rakyat, Malaysia’s parliament, over why Anwar had chosen to sit on the report for nearly four years.

Who has been arrested?

But the RCI report has now been released, with Amir Hamzah saying that “action has been and continues to be taken against those responsible, including disciplinary action, police reports, court claims, and investigations by Enforcement agencies.”

Several former Tabung Haji board members have been arrested since the report's release, as well as one former minister.

Jamil Khir Baharom is a former minister at the Prime Minister's Department (religious affairs) between 2009 and 2018, under the premiership of Najib Razak, putting him in charge of TH at the most critical of times, as reported by Bloomberg.

Baharom has been charged with three counts of causing TH to dispose of more than RM860 million (S$ 269 million) in assets between 2015 and 2017, as reported by The Star.

He is also the second high-ranking UMNO leader to be charged over the affair, as Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim was charged with one count of abuse of power on Sep. 9, as reported by MalaysiaKini.

Azeezb was the former TH chairperson, a former MP, and a current member of UMNO's supreme council.

Both men have pleaded not guilty.

Political ramifications

Bloomberg’s report on Baharom’s arrest noted the political dimension of the RCI’s report’s timing.

Malaysia’s politics over the TH scandal period was notoriously unstable, with the scandal being revealed by one PM, the RCI initiated by another, and delivered to a third, within the span of four years.

The past four years, by comparison, have been relatively stable, with Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan having reached a detente with UMNO in order to rule the country.

But in recent months, that unity has begun to break down, with UMNO sensing a return to power is on the cards, as PH’s coalition questions whether its alliance with UMNO has cost it its chance of significant political reforms.

As a result, the ties between the two factions, and their leaders Anwar and UMNO’s president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, have frayed, with Zahid even going so far as to call for fresh elections as soon as possible, according to Bloomberg.

Anwar, for his part, has recommitted his party and government to its initial mission of reform and anti-corruption, which, given UMNO’s over 60 uninterrupted years in power, can be interpreted as targeting UMNO.

Protecting feelings

In fact, no less than Anwar’s former Keadilan lieutenant and Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli has accused Anwar of delaying the report’s release in order to “keep UMNO onside”, as reported by MalaysiaKini in July 2026.

Rafizi has previously intimated that he had known the contents of the report before, likely due to his previous position in the government.

In his view, releasing the report would have revealed how the institution of TH, and the crucial role it played in Malaysia, had been “marred” under UMNO’s administration.

Instead the report was buried as “Anwar was very careful to protect UMNO’s feelings”.

Anthropic, the company behind AI tool Claude, will open a Singapore office in October, according to a press release.

It already has offices in Tokyo, Bengaluru, Seoul and Sydney, making this its fifth in the region.

"From working with customers across Southeast Asia, I’ve seen that ambition isn't the blocker to AI adoption — trust is," Anthropic's general manager of ASEAN, Dale Finlay, said.

Finlay added that once the trust is established, "the real work is embedding AI into how the business actually operates".

Why Singapore

In a June 2026 report by Anthropic, Singapore placed second out of 121 countries for Claude.ai usage relative to population.

The usage in Singapore runs 5.81 times higher than what is expected of the size of the population, the report found.

Anthropic's managing director of international Chris Ciauri said:

"As we grow across Asia-Pacific, opening an office in Singapore, where Claude usage per capita is among the highest in the world, is a natural next step. A presence here means we can hire the people who know this market best, and work side by side with local customers and partners building with Claude."

Anthropic cited the concentration of technical talent, global businesses and research institutions as the reason behind its expansion here.

It also pointed to Singapore's plans to use AI to reshape industries and build up workforce skills, while keeping adoption responsible.

"That balance between innovation and safety aligns closely with Anthropic’s approach," the press release stated.

Who they expect to work with

Anthropic said demand has been strong in regulated sectors, naming financial services and government.

The company said it plans to work with a variety of organisations here, including startups, large enterprises, and the public sector, and will be hiring for a range of roles.

More details can be found on its careers page.

From Sep. 16, Singapore Citizens, aged 18 and above, will receive a six-month complimentary subscription to a premium AI tool after attending an eligible AI course.

They can find a list of over 200 curated courses and sign up for them on the MySkillsFuture website. The course must start from Sep. 1 or later to be eligible for the free premium AI subscription.

Each person can redeem only one free subscription, regardless of how many eligible courses they have attended.

They can choose from five different AI tools: ChatGPT Plus, Google AI Pro, Manus AI, Microsoft 365 Personal, and Singtel AI Pass.

First announced by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong during Budget 2026, the SkillsFuture AI Subscription initiative aims to help Singaporeans practise their acquired skills, strengthen AI proficiency, and build confidence in using AI.

Eligible AI courses

To find courses eligible for this initiative, look for those on MySkillsFuture that carry the "Free AI sub" label, or visit this filtered list.

There are currently over 160 courses on the list.

How to redeem the subscription

After attending an eligible AI course, you will get an email with details on redeeming your free premium AI subscription.

The email includes a request form where you can indicate your preferred AI tool to subscribe to.

You need to fill up and submit the form within 60 days from the date of the notification email.

Changing the AI tool is not allowed once the request form is submitted.

If successful, you will receive the details to activate your free subscription via email.

Assess your AI readiness

The Skills and Workforce Development Agency (SWDA) and the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) have also jointly developed an AI Ready Quiz to help individuals assess their current level of AI readiness.

They may be evaluated as AI Aware, AI Literate, or AI Fluent.

With this information, they can better identify AI courses suitable for their upskilling development.

The online quiz consists of 12 questions and takes about 15 minutes to complete.

After completing it, each person will receive a personalised AI readiness profile via email.

This profile will summarise their current readiness level, and recommend learning resources and curated AI courses based on their needs.

Growing up, I had naturally curly, voluminous hair.

However, back then in school, my hair would catch eraser chunks thrown by my classmates. During one Chinese New Year, a relative grabbed decorative toy firecrackers from around the house and joked that an explosion must have given me my hair.

I ended up rebonding my hair out of self-consciousness. Coupled with periods of incredible stress and weight fluctuations over seven to eight years in my adult life, this resulted in intensified hair fall, and my hair loss started becoming very noticeable now that I am in my early 30s.

What’s worse, my scalp was obvious under office lights and when I was photographed from behind. But that wasn't what pushed me to seek help. When people noticed my balding scalp, they started giving me unsolicited comments. I became very self-conscious.

I decided to seek expert help, although I was still hesitant as to how effective it could really be.

Nonetheless, with an open mind, I sought expert help at TK TrichoKare to find out what was going on with my scalp and what I could do about it.

What’s causing the hair loss?

The moment of truth came during the Tricho-Scan analysis, when I had an in-depth consultation to find out what problems were causing my hair fall.

According to the scans, not only was my hair clearly thinning, but my scalp had some bright red blood vessels snaking beneath the surface, signalling inflammation.

Apparently, my "night owl" lifestyle (guilty as charged), low water intake, and general stress had contributed to scalp inflammation, which affected the skin around my hair follicles, where hair growth is regulated.

The consultant explained that this inflammation was essentially sabotaging my hair follicles; if left untreated, it could even damage them permanently.

In the 200x magnified scalp scan, I could see empty follicles where hair strands should be, sealed shut by dirt and oil, and the ones that still had hair strands were thin and weak.

This also finally explained those annoying, random pimples I’d been feeling on my head. Nothing was breaking through that oil and dirt build-up despite daily shampooing.

Exosome Scalp Renewal Therapy

After the breakdown of my scalp’s “drama,” I was whisked away for my first session of TrichoKare’s Exosome Scalp Renewal Therapy, which was tailored precisely to my needs.

First up: a nourishing European Herbal Scalp Masque. It’s infused with natural ingredients like Tea Tree to tame the itch and oil, and Magnolia to soothe irritation and boost my hair’s natural shine.

Honestly, the cooling sensation felt like a breath of fresh air. While the masque worked its magic to unclog the pores that had been hosting a 'pimple coup' on my head, I just got to relax.

When it was time to wash off the masque, I received an invigorating, thorough hair wash using TrichoKare’s Nourishing Hair Bath shampoo and CompleteKare Mask conditioner.

The staff was really good with her hands, making sure not only to clean off the masque but also to give my scalp a much-needed thorough cleanse.

Afterwards, my hair was dried, and I was given a heated shoulder pad for extra comfort before the Exosome Serum was sprayed and massaged thoroughly onto my scalp.

If you’re wondering what exosomes are, they are tiny natural particles that help repair the scalp and encourage weakened hair follicles to produce healthier, stronger hair.

Besides improving scalp condition and enhancing hair vitality, their main job is to reactivate inactive hair follicles.

To wrap up, I went through PhotoDynamic therapy – this technology helps to regulate the scalp’s pH, detoxify, and heal scalp inflammation. While I noticed other customers using a smaller device called Hair Bang, the consultant opted for the larger machine for me, which is specifically catered to my scalp condition.

She explained that, given my level of thinning, a smaller, closer device might be too intense for my sensitive scalp, which reassured me that the treatment could be adjusted to my scalp's needs.

Post-treatment

I headed back into the consultation room for the moment of truth, undergoing another Tricho-Scan session.

Seeing my scalp again after the session and the immediate difference was genuinely satisfying. The angry redness I saw earlier had visibly calmed down, my pores were noticeably clearer, and I was encouraged to know that my scalp was not beyond repair.

Realistically, one treatment session won't give me a full head of thick hair, but it is a solid, necessary start.

It’s a huge relief to stop playing the guessing game with search engines or AI chatbots, and finally have a clear, data-backed roadmap for my scalp health.

Through the process, it is more reassuring to know that I am in the safe hands of hair and scalp care specialists.

If you’re tired of worrying and want to actually know what’s going on up there, why not let a hair and scalp care expert analyse your scalp?

For just S$48 nett, you too can experience visible improvements from the Exosome Scalp Renewal Therapy.

On top of that, you’ll take home freebies including a Nourishing Hair Bath shampoo and a CompleteKare Mask conditioner (worth S$45 in total) — all formulated with natural herbal extracts— plus a S$10 Grab eGift card.

This promotion is valid until Oct. 31, 2026.

To book an appointment, you can do so via WhatsApp here or their website here.

This branded article by TK TrichoKare made this writer feel a little bit more confident about herself and her hair.

Top image by Breelyn Kuek/Mothership

Ed Sheeran's Loop tour has faced significant backlash after opening act Macklemore was dropped following speeches he made on stage supporting Palestine.

Macklemore, 43, an American rapper, announced that Sheeran, 35, had removed him from the tour in an Instagram post on Sep. 14.

The fallout resulted in all four remaining supporting acts and Sheeran's live band withdrawing from the tour.

In separate statements, the opening acts who announced their decisions to quit are American singer Finneas, Irish singer-songwriter Aaron Rowe, Danish band Lukas Graham and Irish folk group Beoga.

Sheeran published a statement on Instagram on Sep. 15 stating that it was important he lay out the facts.

Pressured by venue owners

Sheeran said he was "appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine" and that, with all his supporting acts, he gave them free rein over their setlist.

However, after Macklemore's performances, venues told Sheeran "they would pull the shows if he was still supporting".

"I was informed that this stance was based on how Macklemore conveyed part of his message during his performance, rather than on everything that was said."

Sheeran added that he spoke with the venues all week "to try and build a bridge" but noted that the "venue's and promoter's decision was final".

He singled out the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Kraft Group, Robert Kraft.

According to Rolling Stone, Kraft, the billionaire owner of Gillette Stadium, also confirmed his decision, noting that it was based on Macklemore's "broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community".

Macklemore's dismissal not Sheeran's decision

Sheeran clarified that Macklemore being kicked out was the tour promoter's decision, not his.

"I would never let down the fans who had made plans, nor would I abandon the touring crew and other support acts and musicians who rely on me for work and to make a living", said Sheeran.

He added that he has always used his platform and music to unite people of various backgrounds and "this won't ever change".

Sheeran said: "I am not complicit. I have my personal views on this devastating conflict."

'Those who come to my shows do not expect a political forum'

Sheeran explained his reasoning for not using his platform for politics: his young audience, often children, "do not expect a political forum" at his shows.

"I respect Macklemore's strength of purpose to stand up and shout what he believes. However, there is room for multiple approaches to the same end: peace."

Sheeran asserted that he chooses to use his fame and platform as a place of "safety and sanctuary, to maintain diplomacy and keep conversations open".

He added that by only focusing on shouting the loudest, nothing will change and that there are different ways to advocate for change.

Sheeran concluded by saying he had spent the week attempting to find a solution but was unable to do so.

"I know who I am, both as a person and as an artist, and those who know my heart know my values too."

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Ed Sheeran (@teddysphotos)

The Henri Charpentier store at Orchard Central was met with an unwelcome visitor in the wee hours of Sep. 13 when a man allegedly trashed it while intoxicated.

Speaking to Mothership, Ami, the director of Suzette International Pte. Ltd., which operates Henri Charpentier Singapore, said the incident took place at about 4am that day.

Throwing furniture, cursing

The scene was captured via the store's CCTV footage, which also included audio.

It happened at around 4am, according to timestamps on the footage. The store was closed at the time.

Another man and woman were with him, though the trio's relationship is unknown.

The source of his distress was also unclear.

Videos seen by Mothership showed the man inside the store for some time, shouting and cursing, and throwing and hitting furniture and fixtures.

At one point, he grabbed a table, threw it to the ground, dragged it out of the store, and threw it to the ground again.

At another point, he punched the cushion seats and shouted before removing one of its backrests and attempting to throw it on the ground.

He also appeared intoxicated, shouting and cursing unintelligibly and occasionally slumping over.

Damaged discovered

After he got up, the woman who was with him put one of the chairs back in its place.

He finally left the scene at around 4:24am.

The damage was eventually discovered by opening staff at 9am that day, after which the outlet remained open for business.

Checks by Mothership on Sep. 15 showed that Google Maps listed the store as open.

The incident was then reported to both Orchard Central's management, as well as the police on the same day.

The police confirmed that a report was lodged and investigations are ongoing.

Not trying to shame man

Ami said that while the incident involved damage to the store's furniture or property, nothing was stolen as far as the store is aware.

She added that it is not the first time "unauthorised individuals" have entered the store after hours, but it is the first time one has damaged the store's furniture.

As such, she hopes he or someone who knows him will contact the store and take responsibility for the damage.

"He appears to be quite young, and we do not know what happened to him that night or what circumstances may have led to his behaviour. On a personal level, I do feel some sympathy for him.

At the same time, as a business, we cannot simply ignore the damage caused to our store and bear the cost ourselves."

Should the man come forward and make arrangements to reimburse the cost of the damaged property, the store said it is open to resolving the matter reasonably, without unnecessary publicity.

Asked about the the losses involved, she said the store is currently assessing the cost of repairs, but it is likely to be around S$1,000.