The co-founder of Hyrox, the fitness race competition, has apologised over the incident at its recent Beijing event which saw an athlete complete the race even after she defecated herself due to fecal incontinence.

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

Hyrox had earlier said in a Sep. 14 statement that concerns raised about hygiene were "legitimate", but said that it would ban anyone identified for comments which threatened to harm the athlete involved.

However, the statement drew backlash from online users.

They took issue with how the Hyrox statement did not take into account the impact on other participants and how it seemed to suggest distinct protocols between elite competitors and others.

Apologised

In his statement posted on Instagram on Sep. 14, Hyrox co-founder Moritz Fürste issued an apology to “address the China incident directly”.

"I apologise to all that were directly or indirectly affected, as well as to everyone who felt like we did not handle the situation like we should have," Fürste said, referring to the incident during the Beijing race.

Fürste acknowledged that the organiser made a mistake "by not reacting immediately during the race".

“In the end, it is my job to foresee these potential incidents — and I did not.”

After videos of the incident circulated online, the Beijing organiser issued a statement saying that affected lanes and areas were closed and disinfected.

Fürste took personal responsibility for the incident and shared that rulebook changes were made immediately.

He also shared that there are new rules and procedures in place to prevent similar incidents from reoccuring.

At the time of writing, his post has garnered over 7,600 likes and 1,500 comments.

While some commenters expressed appreciation for the co-founder's apology, others have continued insisting that the athlete be disqualified for causing inconvenience to others.

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A post shared by Mo Fuerste (@mofuerste)

Background

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

Wietrzyk went on to win the women's event at the competition, which took place from Sep. 10 to 13, despite the incident.

The competition organiser faced criticisms for allowing Wietrzyk to continue despite her state, with many raising hygiene concerns.

Hyrox was launched in Germany in 2017.

It is a multi-workout fitness competition which sees participants do a 1km run between eight workout stations.

The workouts include sled pull, 1000m rowing, 2x32kg farmers carry and 80m burpee broad jump.

According to its website, it currently has races in more than 11 different countries and over 30 different cities.

A woman dropped one of her AirPods down a drainage grate in Bukit Batok but was reunited with it thanks to a migrant worker who retrieved it within five minutes of his arrival at the scene.

TikTok user @i.tgal_insg, who goes by Angela, posted a video of the incident and thanked the migrant worker, Rony Das, for his swift rescue.

In her caption, she said: "Singapore efficiency is real. One call and it was sorted. Didn't even take five minutes!"

"Huge thanks to brother Rony for saving me S$100."

Called Town Council

Angela said that while she was heading home from work, she got off at a bus stop at Bukit Batok Avenue 1 and was about to put her AirPods back into their case.

She accidentally dropped the left earbud through a drainage grate.

"I was with one of my housemates, and I immediately went into total panic."

The pair were not sure whether they were allowed to lift the grate themselves, but remembered that information was posted in the lift about maintenance and other matters.

According to time stamps provided by Angela, the duo called Jurong-Clementi-Bukit Batok Town Council at 8:36pm, and a staff member assisted them.

"I was really eager to get it back because I was worried that if I left it there for a few days, especially if it rained, the earbud might get flushed away," explained Angela.

Gave him doughnuts as thanks

Shortly after the four-minute-long call ended, the town council staff called back at 8:43pm, saying Rony, a cleaner working nearby, was on his way.

Rony arrived on his bike, leapt into the drain and quickly handed the earbud back to Angela at 8:47pm.

Angela added that she did not have any cash on her, and Rony refused to give her his PayNow information.

As a gesture of gratitude, she gave Rony a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts instead.

Angela noted that the town council staff also called her around 10pm to check if she had retrieved her AirPods.

When asked what prompted her to share the incident on social media, Angela said she was "truly impressed by the response and how quickly everything was handled."

"I wanted to share this because, regardless of who we are or what we do, or what your profession is, a simple act of kindness and appreciation can mean so much. Kindness is free; let’s keep spreading it."

A cafe owner in Singapore was scammed of his earnings in a mere half an hour after he received what looked like a card verification message on WhatsApp.

Speaking to Mothership, Muhammad Shaqil, 31, shared that he received a WhatsApp message on Sep. 10 regarding a hotel booking for his upcoming work-related trip to Germany, and the message included details of the booking he had made.

Following the incident, Shaqil made an Instagram post on Sep. 10 to explain how he was scammed and to warn others about such incidents.

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A post shared by QYL’S COFFEE (@qylscoffee)

The scam

In screenshots Shaqil shared with Mothership, the sender, named "Assine SKY", apparently posed as hotel staff and told him that he needed to verify his card details to confirm the booking.

The message included accurate information about his hotel booking, such as the name of the hotel and the date of his stay.

Attached was a "verification" link, and a line urging Shaqil to complete the verification within 12 hours "to ensure [his] reservation remains active".

As the message lined up with an actual hotel booking he had made, Shaqil believed that it was legitimate.

He clicked on the link and entered his card details.

Sophisticated means

Shaqil told Mothership that he had made the hotel booking on Booking.com, one of the largest online travel agencies in the world.

Shortly after entering his card details, he received push notifications from his bank for transactions pending approval.

He authorised the transactions as they looked like notifications that were typical of any card check.

"The first and second push notifications I received were both US$162 (S$205), which matched the hotel booking amount, so I didn’t think anything was wrong," Shaqil said.

However, the transactions were not temporary holding amounts, like the sender had claimed, but actual transfers.

Subsequently, the third, fourth, and fifth transactions became progressively larger sums.

By the time that Shaqil realised that something was wrong, the transactions had already been approved and processed.

"Everything was happening so quickly that I didn’t realise what was happening until it was already too late."

Within 30 minutes, the transactions were charged and the money was transferred out of his account.

The scammer sent more transaction requests, which Shaqil successfully denied.

In total, the scammer stole nearly S$2,000 from his account.

Received second scam message

Shaqil subsequently contacted his bank and made a police report.

Despite this, he received yet another message later that night from a second WhatsApp user named "Yas Tanzania".

This person sent the exact same message that "Assine SKY" sent him.

He promptly blocked the number.

According to Shaqil, his bank is looking into the transactions and he is uncertain as to whether he is able to get the money back.

He has also reached out to the actual hotel via Booking.com, which has yet to reply.

Not just a simple sum

Shaqil is the owner of Qyl's Coffee, a cafe at Everton Park.

He is bound for Germany for a work-related coffee event in Frankfurt, where he was engaged to serve his coffee.

Shaqil shared with Mothership that while the amount he lost "might seem small to some people", it was still "hard-earned money" and significant for him.

The money he lost was part of the earnings he had accumulated from the cafe. He had intended to move his cafe out of his current location and the money was to go towards securing a new unit.

However, because of the incident, he stated that he would have to "put those plans on hold".

"Honestly, I’ve been quite stressed since it happened. The amount is significant for me, especially with everything else I’m currently dealing with in my business."

He also questioned how the scammers were able to retrieve his personal details and data, such as the name of the hotel as well as the exact duration of the stay.

Nevertheless, he told Mothership that it was important for him to share what had happened in order to spread awareness.

Booking.com advisory

In an online advisory, Booking.com informs users about the main signs of phishing scams.

Users will never be asked to share credit card details by email, over the phone, through text or WhatsApp.

Additionally, the platform will not ask users to make bank transfers that are "different from the payment policy details in [their] booking confirmation."

In the event that a user has clicked on a link or shared information with a scammer, they are advised to contact Booking.com's customer service team immediately.

Mothership has reached out to Booking.com for comment.

The Australian athlete who won the Pro Women division at Hyrox Beijing despite suffering faecal incontinence mid-race has responded, in a post that has divided opinion further.

Joanna Wietrzyk completed the Sep. 12 race, with organisers subsequently closing off and disinfecting parts of the course.

"A win is a win"

Wietrzyk posted to Instagram Story (IGS) after footage of the race began spreading online, sparking both praise and criticism for her decision to continue.

Dimsum Daily reposted the IGS, which showed her lying on a hospital bed and pouting at the camera. She had written “A win is a win” before thanking her supporters and promising to be “back soon”.

The publication also noted that the athlete offered no explanation for what happened and did not apologise.

Divided reaction

Reactions to the matter have been mixed.

A user on X said: “Should have been instant disqualification.”

“This isn’t dedication this is disgraceful to the other competitors and the staff,” another said.

Supporters, on the other hand, have framed her decision to keep going as the kind of grit Hyrox is built around.

One user said: “Respect to Joanna Wietrzyk for not letting some incontinence slow her down. The Aussies are just born tougher, y’all.”

"Now everyone needs to stop"

Fitness YouTuber Andrew Hiller, who is also a former gym owner, argued that organisers should have halted the race the moment it happened.

He said:

"This race should have been ruined for everybody in this moment because Hyrox would have said, 'Yo, Joanna, guess what? You pooped. Now everyone needs to stop.'"

He then questioned how competitors behind Wietrzyk continued on the same lanes and equipment when Hyrox itself considered the contamination serious enough to replace the turf.

Hiller’s view is that the overwhelming share of the blame belongs to the organisers rather than the athlete.

He puts "80 to 90 per cent" of the responsibility on Hyrox, and thinks the episode will eventually produce a formal rule requiring in disqualifying defecation cases.

Comments on Hyrox’s statement

The global account of Hyrox has since addressed the incident, but it has drawn its own scrutiny.

The organiser spoke of taking responsibility for continuing to improve. However, it did not apologise to the athletes who had to keep racing on a contaminated course.

In response to the post, an Instagram user commented, "This response is trash. You should apologise to all athletes who competed in Beijing and give a firm commitment that any athlete that does this again will be immediately removed from the field of play.”

Hiller went further, setting out what he thought the organiser should have said instead.

As the organiser is responsible for maintaining a safe and sanitary competition environment, he felt that their response fell short.

He added that the statement stopped short of accepting fault, arguing that taking responsibility for continuing to improve is not the same as apologising to the athletes affected.

Most importantly, he said, Hyrox should have refunded the athletes who had been affected.

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A post shared by HYROX Official (@hyroxworld)

A 20-year-old Singaporean man was sentenced to nine years’ jail and 12 strokes of the cane after raping three underage girls, aged 13 to 14, in the span of nine months in 2023.

He faced five charges consisting of aggravated rape and sexual penetration of a minor.

He pleaded guilty to three charges and was sentenced on Sep. 14.

Two other charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

The man cannot be identified, as a gag order was imposed to protect the victims.

First girl

In court documents seen by Mothership, sometime around Sep. 9, 2023, the accused became acquainted with the first victim on TikTok.

The victim was 13 years old, and the accused was 17 years old at that time.

He introduced himself to get close to the girl, and their conversations subsequently turned sexual.

The girl then insisted that she would not have sexual intercourse with the accused if he did not wear a condom.

Both of them met in person on Sep. 12, 2023.

The girl brought the accused up to her home at about 2pm knowing that no one else would be present.

She then brought him up to her parents’ room and removed her clothing at the accused’s instruction.

He then proceeded to penetrate her.

The girl realised he was not wearing a condom and told the accused to get off the bed to put one on.

He refused to do so and the girl reiterated her position that she would not continue having sex with him if he did not wear a condom.

The accused replied that it was “alright” and continued to engage in sexual intercourse with her.

The girl did not consent as he was not wearing a condom.

After hearing some noises, the accused stopped and asked the girl if anyone had returned home.

She subsequently told the accused to go to her room while she washed up in the toilet.

She then asked the accused to leave her home.

The incident came to light in October 2023, when the girl’s aunt checked through her phone and uncovered a conversation with another male.

The girl’s parents asked her if the hospital would find any DNA in her if they were to bring her for a check-up.

She then confessed she had unprotected sex with the accused and lodged a police report on Oct. 31, 2023.

Police then brought the accused in for a statement that same day.

He was not arrested.

Second girl

Around Dec. 5, 2023, the second victim went to a gathering with her friends and met the accused.

The victim was 14 years old, and the man was 17 years old at that time.

Both of them exchanged contact numbers.

The accused later contacted the girl on WhatsApp and started chatting.

On Dec. 7, 2023, she agreed to be his girlfriend.

On the afternoon of Dec. 8, 2023, the accused asked to meet with the girl.

She did not initially agree and told him she would “see first”.

After he persuaded her, the girl agreed and said she would meet him after class.

At about 8:48pm, they met and headed to a staircase landing.

He proceeded to digitally penetrate her before raping her.

The girl felt pain and asked the accused if he had sexually penetrated her, since she saw that both his hands were on the floor.

The accused denied it, and the girl pushed him off.

Despite being pushed away, the accused continued to rape her.

They subsequently went back to their respective homes.

That same day, the girl’s father checked her phone and found messages between her and the accused.

He questioned her, and she admitted that she had had sexual intercourse with the accused.

Her parents then brought her to lodge a police report on Dec. 9, 2023.

Police then brought the accused in for a statement that same day.

He was not arrested.

Third girl

Sometime in May 2024, the third victim added the accused on Instagram, where they started chatting.

The victim was 14 years old, and the man was 18 years old at that time.

The man was the older brother of the girl's close friend.

The girl and the man arranged to meet sometime in May 2024, when he penetrated her.

He did not wear a condom.

Court documents stated that he did so with her consent.

They met again on Jun. 26, 2024, at about 3pm, on a staircase landing in a multi-storey car park.

He had intercourse with her again.

Court documents stated that he did so with her consent again.

On Jun. 29, 2024, the girl lodged a police report.

The man was arrested on the same day.

He has been remanded since Jul. 1, 2024.

Deterrence

The prosecution sought nine to 10 years and one-and-a-half months’ jail and 12 strokes of the cane for the man.

The prosecution argued that “rehabilitation can no longer be the dominant consideration” in his sentencing.

“The dominant consideration almost necessarily turns to deterrence and appropriate sentences must be legislatively prescribed options, such as imprisonment and caning,” the prosecution said.

They also cited his “degree of recalcitrance in re-offending” while he was still under police investigation.

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.