Two Malaysian men who had run into financial difficulties decided to rob a Good Class Bungalow (GCB) in the King Albert Park area, knowing that the house hosted high-stakes poker games that ran up to hundreds of thousands.

In order to subdue all the players, they recruited five other men, also from Malaysia, to help them.

On Apr. 18, 2024, the group of seven entered the house armed with machetes and baseball bats.

They managed to steal about S$4.9 million after tying up 11 people in the property.

Although they managed to flee and escape to Malaysia, six of them were eventually arrested and brought back to Singapore.

The last man remains at large and is believed to have left Malaysia for Thailand, court documents seen by Mothership stated.

The six men, Wong Chi Shan, 35, Goh Boon Tong, 30, Mohd Hamidon Ahmed, 49, Kartik Palaniappan, 34, Mohd Hashim Ismail, 51, and Muhammad Tauffiq Ahmad Fauzi, 34, pleaded guilty to various charges, including armed gang robbery.

Wong and Goh also pleaded guilty to a separate charge related to sex services by Japanese women.

All six were sentenced to jail on Sep. 14.

House hosted high-stakes poker games

Wong and Goh were the masterminds behind the robbery.

Sometime in November 2023, Wong and Goh came to know about high-stakes poker games taking place in the house through their friend, who had participated in these games.

Besides the enormous sums involved, the robbers also knew that the players would settle payment by way of cryptocurrency.

When they later visited the house, the pair observed that its gate would be left open, with the wooden door unlocked for the duration of the poker games.

Sometime in March or April 2024, the pair ran into financial difficulties and Wong suggested robbing the house.

Knowing that they would not be able to handle the scale of the robbery on their own, they decided to engage more “muscle” to participate in the robbery.

Goh roped in Hamidon, who ran his own private security firm and also provided debt collection services.

The three met to discuss and planned that Hamidon would recruit men to "intimidate and subdue" the victims.

The pair offered Hamidon RM1.5 million (S$466,113), which would be split among his team.

Hamidon obtained a deposit of RM10,000 (S$3,113) before recruiting the others, who were not told the full details of the illegal operation.

The robbery

The team failed to rob the house twice on Apr. 15 and 16, 2024, before eventually going through with it on Apr. 17 night.

A poker game was taking place that night.

Hamidon and his team, who had prepared black clothing, ski masks, gloves, duct tape and cable ties, drove into Singapore through Woodlands Checkpoint at about 10:45pm on Apr. 17.

They met Wong and Goh at a car park in Geylang, where they were shown photographs of the house and their entry route into the house.

The seven men drove to the house and parked outside before 2:05am on Apr. 18.

Goh, Yusuf and Kartik were armed with a machete each, while Tauffiq and Hashim carried baseball bats.

Poker game

The game was hosted by a Chinese national, whose husband was the tenant of the house, while another Chinese national assisted with the game.

A South Korean national was engaged as the card dealer, while a Malaysian masseuse was hired to massage the players.

There were seven guests, comprising Singaporeans, an Indonesian, and a Chinese national.

Tied victims up

The robbers entered the house via the unlocked gate and main door while the poker game was still taking place.

They first encountered a man who had just exited a toilet and taped his mouth, wrists and ankles.

They then moved to the living room, where they shouted at the victims to raise their hands, lower their heads and place their phones on the table.

Out of fear, the victims complied, and were bound and made to sit in a corner of the living room.

The robbers went on to search the house for valuables.

Goh and Wang later discovered sizeable amounts of crypto in the hostess's phone apps and carried out crypto transfers to a wallet they controlled.

The group also stripped the victims of their cash and valuables, emptied the cash held in a safe in the living room and ransacked a bedroom.

The seven men later escaped into Johor Bahru past 2am on Apr. 18 and arranged to regroup in Kuala Lumpur.

Victims called police

Back at the house, some of the victims managed to free themselves and called the police to report the robbery.

The victims were later medically assessed for injuries, with some sustaining minor injuries on their wrists from being bound.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) later identified the robbers and established that they departed Singapore for Malaysia right after the robbery.

The six men were arrested by the Royal Malaysian Police and later extradited to Singapore.

Of the S$4.9 million stolen, SPF has recovered about S$1.69 million in cryptocurrency, while the remaining sum in the form of cash, valuables and more cryptocurrency was not recovered.

Masterminds sentenced to 12 years and 11 months, 24 strokes

In sentencing, the judge called the robbery an "audacious and well-planned" one, according to CNA.

Saying that Singapore is "by and large a safe country", he warned that "those who disturb that peace and security" can only expect to be "treated severely".

Wong and Goh were each sentenced to 12 years and 11 months in jail, reported CNA.

They were also given 24 strokes of the cane and a fine of S$4,000.

Meanwhile, Hamidon was sentenced to 10.5 years in jail, while Kartik and Tauffiq received seven years and eight months in jail.

All three were given 24 strokes of the cane as well.

Hashim was sentenced to eight years and eight months in jail but could not be caned as he is above 50 years old.

Those convicted of armed gang robbery can be sentenced to a jail term of 5 to 20 years, along with caning of up to 24 strokes.

A job matching session will be held on Sep. 17 for former employees of True Fitness and True Yoga centres after operations ceased across all outlets on Sep. 10.

Although True Fitness and True Yoga are not unionised, a session will be organised by the NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), the Singapore Manual and Mercantile Workers' Union (SMMWU), and the National Instructors and Coaches Association (NICA).

Job matching session

According to a Sep. 14 statement by Andy Lim, secretary-general of the SMMWU, the session will see union members and workers receiving support on job matching assistance, guidance and advice on workplace matters.

Additionally, its membership team will be present at the event to support members.

SMMWU will also provide further assistance and resources to affected union members and workers.

Lim noted that NTUC's e2i stands ready to support affected Singaporeans and Permanent Residents (PRs) with job matching services, career coaching and skills upgrading advisory.

Members of the public may visit this website for more information.

Eligible workers who are Singaporeans or PRs can also receive more employment support through the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support (JS) scheme by participating in e2i's job search activities.

Jobseeker Support scheme

According to Lim, the JS scheme provides temporary financial support of up to S$6,000 over six months for involuntarily unemployed individuals.

The scheme serves to increase the chances of finding a job that makes better use of jobseekers’ skills and experiences.

It allows eligible individuals to receive corresponding payouts when they meet the minimum points required for each month.

Members of the public may visit this website for more information.

Eligible union members who require skills upgrading can also tap into the Union Training Assistance Programme (UTAP) to offset training costs.

Union members requiring assistance may contact SMMWU at feedback@smmwu.org.sg or 6294 2481 from 9am to 6pm from Monday to Thursday and 9am to 5pm on Friday.

Customer losses

Earlier reports mentioned that following the closure of both companies, customers reported losses of more than S$609,000 in unutilised memberships, packages, and services to the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE).

That was the figure as of Sep. 11, CASE President Melvin Yong shared in a Facebook post.

At the time, CASE had received 241 complaints from consumers affected by the closure.

The True Singapore Group operates 10 fitness and yoga outlets in Singapore under three brands: True Fitness, TFX and Yoga Edition.

Staff at headquarters meeting

Mothership estimated that about 100 of its former staff showed up at the company's headquarters at 8 Claymore Hill on the afternoon of Sep. 11, where provisional liquidators were to explain the next steps.

According to former employees at the meeting, the liquidators said they would try to recover as much funds as they can to pay the staff's salaries and refund members who bought packages.

A few ex-staff told Mothership that they believed they were owed salary for the days they worked in September thus far, and had reportedly not received any compensation or promise of one.

One employee said he had a lot of questions he wanted to ask the HR department.

But no one from HR was apparently there, leaving him disappointed.

Some staff had been with the company for years, with many still processing the sudden loss of their jobs.

A 31-year-old Singaporean man drove a car while his licence was suspended, collided with another vehicle, and showed police officers a screenshot of someone else’s driving licence to deceive them.

He was sentenced to 13 weeks’ jail, fined S$3,400, and disqualified from holding all classes of driving licenses for five years.

In a separate incident, he abandoned a vehicle on the expressway after crashing it.

Cheong Melvin faced eight charges, including providing false information and charges under the Road Traffic Act and the Motor Vehicles (Third-Party Risks And Compensation) Act.

He pleaded guilty to six of the charges and was sentenced on Sep. 10.

Two other charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

Hit car while reversing

In court documents seen by Mothership, on Jan. 26, 2025, Cheong was driving a Bentley to his employer’s residence to play cards.

At about 1am, he drove into Cardiff Grove in Serangoon Garden and realised he had made a wrong turn.

He then stopped the vehicle to execute a three-point turn.

However, Cheong failed to keep a proper lookout when reversing and hit the rear portion of another vehicle.

At the time of the incident, the vehicle owner was at home.

He heard a loud bang and walked out to his open balcony and saw that Cheong’s vehicle had rear-ended his car.

The owner immediately called the police after assessing the damage to his motor car, namely scratch marks and scraped paint on the left rear bumper.

While waiting for the police to arrive, he exchanged particulars with Cheong.

At the time of the accident, the weather was fine, the road surface was dry, the traffic flow was light, and the visibility was clear.

Screenshot of licence

At about 1:20am, police officers arrived.

After ascertaining that there were no injuries, a police officer proceeded to verify Cheong’s driving licence.

Cheong claimed that he had left his physical driving licence and personal mobile phone at home.

He then showed the officer a screenshot of a physical driving licence on his company mobile phone, which showed the identity details of a former employee.

When queried, Cheong told the officers that it was his driving licence.

However, the officer noticed that the photograph did not match Cheong's face.

Cheong was asked to read out his NRIC number, but was unable to do so.

The officer then conducted a facial recognition screening by taking a photograph of Cheong.

A subsequent notification from the Police Operations Command Centre confirmed that the facial screening matched "Cheong Melvin".

Admitted to lying

The officer continued to question Cheong about his true identity, and he eventually admitted it.

Cheong claimed he was helping a former employee apply for motor insurance coverage and needed a screenshot of his physical driving licence.

He further admitted to lying to the officer as he was driving whilst under a disqualification order.

Cheong also confessed that he was driving the motor car without an insurance policy.

He lied to the officer as he did not want to be arrested.

Further investigations revealed that Cheong was convicted on Nov. 16, 2023, for drunk driving and was sentenced to a fine of S$2,000 and disqualified from holding or obtaining all classes of driving licences for a period of 24 months from Nov. 16, 2023, to Nov. 15, 2025.

He was arrested on Jan. 26, 2025, at about 4am and released on the same day at about 8:42am on station bail.

Abandoned car

In a separate incident, on Jun. 16, 2025, at about 4:50pm, a 46-year-old Malaysian man was driving his vehicle along the Tampines Expressway (TPE) towards the Seletar Expressway (SLE).

A 40-year-old Malaysian man accompanied him.

Upon approaching the 8.4km mark along the expressway, the driver experienced a minor mechanical issue and pulled over onto the shoulder.

As he was alighting from his car, he noticed Cheong’s vehicle approaching his vehicle in the right-view mirror.

Cheong was also driving along the road at the time of the incident.

The man felt a jolt after Cheong rear-ended the right rear portion of his motor vehicle, causing a dent and crumpling it.

Cheong’s vehicle’s front bumper was ripped off, and the front windshield sustained cracks.

Further investigations revealed that Cheong lost his focus and failed to keep a proper lookout ahead at the time of the incident.

As a result, his vehicle veered left and collided with the car.

The weather was fine, the road surface was dry, visibility was fair, and traffic flow was moderate that day.

Cheong then abandoned his vehicle after exchanging particulars with the man.

Surveillance cameras captured the incident.

Injuries

Following the incident, the two men in the vehicle that Cheong hit sought treatment on the same day.

The older man sustained a cut on the right side of his head and pain in the neck and lower back area.

He was given four days of medical leave.

The younger man suffered neck and lower back pain.

He was also given four days of medical leave.

A man was filmed picking up a community cat and attempting to place it in a carrier in the boot of a car at Joo Seng Road.

The incident first came to light after a video was posted on the Facebook group Sayang Our Singapore's Community Cats on Sep. 5.

The video expressed concern about the man's actions, with users in the comments section berating the cameraperson for not intervening.

However, according to the National Parks Board (NParks), the man is a community cat caregiver who was trying to bring the cat to a veterinary clinic.

Man spotted carrying cat to car boot

In the video, a man dressed in a black T-shirt and shorts can be seen crouching down on a grass patch at an open-air car park.

He is later seen picking the cat up and carrying it to a car with its boot open.

He then appears to attempt to place the cat into a carrier in the boot.

The cat can be seen struggling as the man tries to put it inside.

According to the video's caption, the incident allegedly took place at Block 14 Joo Seng Road.

Cat spotted back in neighbourhood: NParks

In response to Mothership's queries, Jessica Kwok, NParks' group director of enforcement and investigation said the agency is aware of the incident.

Following investigations, NParks found that the man is a community cat caregiver.

The man had noticed that the cat had sustained some injuries and was attempting to bring it to a veterinary clinic, said Kwok.

However, the cat escaped from the carrier and has since been observed at the same location.

Editor's note: A previous version of this story erroneously listed Chew Chui Shien as a man. The error has been corrected.

Local actor Haden Hee, who also founded commercial kitchen and Korean food supplier Hanguk Kitchen, is facing six charges including fraud and forgery.

Charge sheets seen by Mothership stated Hee allegedly abetted and instigated a woman, Chew Chui Shien, to create false contracts and payslips for two persons with the purpose of defrauding the Employment and Employability Institute of S$14,400 in training grants.

At the time of the incident, Chew, 53, was the company's sales director, Shin Min Daily News reported.

The offences took place from April 2018 to January 2019.

Forgery for purpose of cheating

Sometime between April 2018 and November 2018, he allegedly abetted Chew to commit forgery for the purpose of cheating.

Charge sheets stated that he instigated Chew to forge an employment contract purportedly between Hanguk Kitchen Pte Ltd and a man named Jimmy Hee.

This allegedly fake contract stipulated that Jimmy was employed by Hanguk as a chief brands development officer.

False payslips

During this period, Hee, who at the time was a director of Hanguk, is said to have abetted Chew to make four false payslips.

Charge sheets stated that this was allegedly done wilfully and with intent to defraud.

The allegedly fake payslips indicated that Jimmy held the position of chief brands development officer from July 2018 to October 2018 and received an increment of S$500 for the month of October 2018.

These were facts that Hee, then 43, allegedly knew to be false.

Forged another employment contract

Charge sheets stated that sometime between May 2018 and January 2019, Hee allegedly abetted Chew to once again commit forgery for the purpose of cheating.

This time, he allegedly instigated Chew to forge an employment contract purportedly between Hanguk Kitchen Pte Ltd and one Natasha Low.

This was reportedly done with the intention of causing it to be believed that Low had signed it to confirm her employment by Hanguk as a marketing and copywriting manager.

Within the same time period, Hee allegedly abetted Chew to make fake payslips for Low for the months of May to August 2018, including an increment of S$1,000 for the month of August.

Claim for grant disbursement

Charge sheets added that sometime before Nov. 2, 2018, Hee allegedly abetted Chew to cheat Employment and Employability Institute Pte Ltd (e2i).

Hee was said to have instigated Chew, as Hanguk Kitchen's representative, to submit a claim to e2i for grant disbursements under the Professional Conversion Programme.

This was in relation to the training of the man for the position of chief brands development officer, using supporting documents which Hee allegedly knew to be false.

Hee apparently did so to deceive e2i that Hanguk had fulfilled the conditions for the said grant.

e2i subsequently processed the claim and delivered S$6,000 of grant money to Hanguk Kitchen.

Hee and Chew then did the same for Low.

In her case, e2i processed the claim and delivered S$8,400 of grant money to Hanguk Kitchen.

Shin Min reported that Chew was sentenced to five months' jail in February 2026.

Hee reportedly not living at residence for many years

When Shin Min visited Hee's residence, a female domestic worker who did not want to be interviewed said Hee had not lived there for many years.

Neighbours who lived nearby pointed out that while they initially saw Hee entering and leaving the unit, they believed he had moved out and his parents were the ones who lived there.

Shin Min reported that according to the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority's (ACRA) records, Hee was a director of four companies in the food and beverage industry.

He had previously been a director and manager of 12 companies, mainly spanning the food and beverage industry.

Hee is out on a bail and his case will be heard again on Oct. 5.

A Cambodian school principal was charged on Sep. 14, 2026 for allegedly having sex with a 12-year-old girl.

The Khmer Times reported that the suspect was identified as one Kak Hong, the principal of a primary school in Battambang, northwestern Cambodia.

According to The Cambodia China Times, the 58-year-old lured the girl to his residence under the pretext of talking to her, as well as giving her promises of money.

He sexually assaulted her multiple times, with the encounters taking place from August 2025 to July 2026.

After each instance, he would allegedly give her between 40,000 to 50,000 riels (S$12.50 to S$15.60).

On Aug. 13, the victim's mother caught Hong in the act and called the police. He was subsequently arrested.

Under Cambodian law, he will face two criminal charges relating to the sexual exploitation of a minor.

The 15-year-old boy, who allegedly stabbed his 16-year-old schoolmate to death in a secondary school in Malaysia in 2025, has been acquitted.

The High Court in Malaysia on Sep. 14 found him to have been of unsound mind during the incident in Bandar Utama, New Straits Times reported.

The accused was 14 years old at the time of offence.

The boy was ordered to be detained and treated at Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta in Perak at the pleasure of the Sultan of Selangor, Judge Adlin Abdul Majid ruled.

The boy's lawyer, Kitson Foong, briefed reporters following the closed-door proceedings.

He said the court found that the prosecution had failed to rebut what the defence successfully established under Section 84 of the Penal Code, which provides for the defence of insanity.

In response, the mother of the victim posted on Facebook: "I'm sorry, daughter, we will continue to seek justice for you!!"

The victim, Yap Shing Xuen, was allegedly stabbed with a knife by the boy in their school toilet on Oct. 14, 2025.

She was allegedly stabbed more than 200 times, according to the victim's mother.

The male teenager cannot be publicly identified or photographed due to his age.

He was brought to Malaysia's High Court for the first time in February 2026.

The teenager entered his plea after the charge was read out in Mandarin.

According to the charge sheet, he was accused of murdering Yap in the girls' toilet of SMK Bandar Utama Damansara (4) in Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya, between 9:20am and 9:35am.

The charge carries the death penalty, or a jail term of not less than 30 years and not more than 40 years, and 12 strokes of the cane.

However, since the boy is below the age of 18, the death penalty could not be imposed on him.

Instead he was detained at the pleasure of the Sultan of Selangor.

A 41-year-old male Bangladeshi national was sentenced to 13 months and two weeks’ jail after getting into a fight with a man and lodging a false police report that he was robbed by the person he fought with.

The victim was an acquaintance, Shin Min Daily News reported.

Bhuyan Md Ozzjal faced four charges of voluntarily causing hurt, criminal intimidation, providing false information, and affray.

He pleaded guilty to two charges and was sentenced on Sep. 10.

The rest of the charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

Playing

Bhuyan was reportedly unhappy that the victim was spreading rumours about him and for telling his wife that he was “playing around with women”.

In charge sheets seen by Mothership, at about 2am, near Lorong 14 Geylang, Bhuyan went to a coffee shop to confront the victim, who was drinking with his cousin at the time of the incident.

Both men proceeded to fight.

After the victim and his cousin left, Bhuyan called the police, falsely claiming that he was robbed by two men who snatched S$256 in cash and his work permit from him.

Admitted

The police identified the victim and his cousin and brought them to the police station to provide statements.

At about 4:30pm on the same day, Bhuyan admitted that he lodged a false police report.

He explained that he was drunk at the time of the incident and intended to get the victim into trouble.

Manager

Bhuyan’s lawyers sought no more than 13 months and two weeks’ jail for Bhuyan.

In mitigation, Bhuyan’s lawyers reportedly said Bhuyan had worked in Singapore for 16 years.

He apparently started as a construction worker and worked his way up to manager.

Bhuyan also hoped he can still work in Singapore.

Air quality in Singapore almost hit the unhealthy range on Monday morning, Sep. 14.

The 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) reading at 11am was between 78 and 99, just within the moderate range, according to the National Environment Agency (NEA) website.

The unhealthy range reading is between 101 and 200.

The public is advised to reduce prolonged or strenuous outdoor physical exertion if the 24-hr PSI reading crosses into the unhealthy range.

Central Singapore was haziest just before noon.

1-hour PM2.5: 113

Just before at 10am, the one-hour PM2.5 reading hit 113 in central Singapore.

One-hour PM2.5 measures the concentration of tiny airborne particles over a single hour.

The one-hour PM2.5 concentration readings act as a real-time gauge of the air during hazy conditions.

It provides the most current indication of air quality.

The reading is expressed in micrograms per cubic metre, where particles are less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter.

Readings of between 56 and 150 indicate the elevated range, while readings of between 151 and 250 indicate the high range.

For those considering engaging in outdoor activities immediately, they should refer to the one-hour PM2.5 concentration reading.

Vulnerable persons are advised to follow the guide on outdoor activities during haze episodes.

The organisers of Hyrox have responded to the incident at its Beijing competition, which took place from Sep. 10 to 13, in which an Australian athlete suffered fecal incontinence while running the circuit.

It said that it will take into account "legitimate" community feedback but will permanently ban anyone threatening violence against the athlete.

Videos of the incident circulated on Chinese social media on Sep. 12.

The female athlete, Joanna Wietrzyk, was seen completing exercises like burpee broad jumps with stained garments and legs.

Wietrzyk went on to win the women's event of the competition.

While some praised Wietrzyk's perseverance, others were critical of her and the organisers, citing hygiene concerns.

'New and increasingly complex situations'

In a Sep. 14 Instagram post, Hyrox began by saying, "As our sport continues to evolve we are encountering new and increasingly complex situations that challenge us and where additional clarity is needed."

It stated that it has "clear biocontaminant and medical procedures in place".

"In this instance, an unforeseen situation in which protocols designed for elite competition and mass participation became blurred, creating an ambiguity in how they were applied and understood," Hyrox said.

It did not elaborate on what these protocols were in its statement.

Hyrox described the concerns raised by its community as "legitimate" and said that it will "examine what happened and take responsibility for continuing to improve".

Drawing the line

However, the organiser also drew a line, saying that frustration should "never be directed towards the athletes themselves".

"There is no place in our community for threats of violence or encouragement to harm an athlete", the organiser said.

It then said that it is currently reviewing and identifying those responsible for such comments, and anyone identified will be permanently banned from Hyrox events.

Hyrox should "apologise to all other athletes" instead

Online users responded to the statement on the post, suggesting that the organiser should apologise to all other competitors as well.

One user said that the athlete should have been pulled from the competition and that there was "no blurred lines".

Some questioned the organiser's distinction between elite competitors and other participants.

Comments referring to the incident at the competition in Beijing have also flooded Wietrzyk's recent Instagram posts.

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Affected areas were closed and disinfected

Hyrox China said in a Sep. 12 statement that the affected areas and lanes of the race course were closed and thoroughly disinfected.

The organisers also removed equipment affected by the incident, and disposed of waste in accordance with local waste management regulations.

Carpets would be replaced after the day's events, they added, followed by a deep cleaning and disinfection of the entire venue.