A 37-year-old employer in Singapore who booked her domestic helper's flight to Myanmar says that her helper became uncontactable afterwards.

Angeline Lim, posted her experience on Instagram, where she said that the hardest part was not her helper leaving.

Speaking to Mothership on Aug. 11, Lim said she has since cancelled her helper's work permit.

She is also working on hiring a replacement.

Lim added that she asked if her helper had reached the airport, to which she said yes.

That was apparently the last Lim heard of her.

2 helpers

Lim, who is a mother of three, said in her post that one of her two helpers, who had been with the family for five months, wanted to return home as her mother was unwell.

Her post mentioned that with three young children, both helpers had separate roles.

One focused on caring for her youngest toddler boy, while the helper who wished to return to Myanmar managed the cooking and cleaning.

Her post stated that her husband's work requires his full focus, "and the only thing I can do for him is try to protect that focus".

As such, "the invisible load of running our household and managing three children's schedules" largely falls on her.

"I outsource the cooking, cleaning and laundry so I can work, manage the groceries, handle all their class pick-ups — and still be present for my three young children," she said.

Wanted to visit sick mother

At the time, the text from her helper who wished to return read: "I don't want to stay. I want to go home and take care my mom. I can't stand to see my mother cry. If something happens to my mother, I might die.

I want to go back home and live next to my mother. If you don't buy me a plane ticket? I buy my own ticket."

Lim told Stomp that her husband, who is a doctor, determined from the medical reports that it "wasn't a life-threatening emergency".

She said in her post that she still allowed her helper to return to Myanmar as she understood that she wanted to be with her family.

"I knew we could manage temporarily," said Lim, adding that her remaining helper would cover the cleaning.

They would also split the cooking and toddler care between them.

Helper said would return

Lim, noted, however, that she needed to know if her helper would be returning back to Singapore.

Before buying her helper's return ticket, Lim asked her directly: "Do you want to go home for good, or are you coming back."

She wrote that either answer "would have been okay" as she just needed the truth to plan accordingly.

Lim then purchased a two-way ticket at S$437.40 as her helper reportedly said she would return.

Allegedly uncontactable, never boarded return flight

Following this, her helper replied "Thanks Mdm" when Lim asked her to check in.

However, a screenshot of Lim's correspondence with her helper showed that she did not reply Lim's subsequent messages.

Lim also told Stomp that her helper reportedly did not board the return flight.

Noting that she "half expected this to happen" and was searching for a replacement, she found it "wasteful" to have paid for a return ticket she did not end up using.

She also told Stomp that with regard to her helper's mental state before leaving, she supposedly "seemed ok".

Her Instagram post read: "I'm not angry that she chose to leave.

"I'm disappointed that she chose to lie and take kindness for granted."

She added: "If she had told me the truth, I would have avoided paying for a return flight she never took."

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Angeline Lim (@angel_limst)

A Malaysian man, 23, was caught at Woodlands Checkpoint on Aug. 11 allegedly in possession of official-looking stamps and fake employee passes bearing his photograph.

The items are believed to be for the purposes of carrying out scams.

The inking instruments bore the emblems of the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The man was directed for enhanced checks at the arrival bus hall by Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers.

Investigations revealed that he had no employment history with any of the organisations whose passes were found on him, the police said in a statement on Aug. 12.

The police said: “Such counterfeit passes and official-looking instruments are tactics commonly employed by scammers to lend credibility to their operations, deceiving victims into believing they are dealing with representatives of a legitimate organisation.”

The man is set to be charged in court on Aug. 13 with the offence of making or possessing a counterfeit instrument with intent to commit forgery.

The offence carries a jail term of up to seven years and a fine.

Residents in Punggol affected by the ongoing Cross Island Line construction will be able to borrow noise blankets or collect free noise-cancelling earbuds to help reduce noise disruptions from construction works.

Noise caused by the construction of a diaphragm wall

In a Facebook post on Aug. 10, Punggol GRC MP Sun Xueling said she is aware of the significant noise affecting residents of Waterway Terraces 1.

In a video accompanying the post, Sun said the noise is caused by the construction of a diaphragm wall next to Block 308A Punggol Walk.

She explained that the wall is a key structural component of the Cross Island Line project, as it retains surrounding soil and protects nearby buildings and roads from collapsing.

Noise blankets available for loan

Acknowledging the inconvenience caused by the works, Sun said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will make noise blankets available on loan to residents until the diaphragm wall construction is completed.

The blankets, which measure 2m by 1m, can reduce noise levels by between 15 and 17 decibels.

LTA will install and remove the blankets, and no drilling is required, she added.

However, she noted that the blankets are "quite thick" and, while they provide sound insulation, they will also block out some natural light and airflow.

Those who prefer not to install the blankets can instead collect free noise-cancelling earbuds from the Waterway Residents' Network, Sun said.

She also encouraged residents to share their feedback with her, adding that they will do their best to expedite the completion of the Cross Island Line.

Students and staff of Xinmin Secondary School in Hougang were evacuated on Aug. 13 morning following a bomb threat, according to The Straits Times.

The school reportedly said in a message to parents and guardians that it was alerted to the threat and immediately activated its evacuation procedures at 8:28am.

The police have conducted a "thorough search" of the premises, and no suspicious items were found, it said.

All students and staff were accounted for, it added.

Students have since returned to their classrooms, and the regular timetable has resumed.

More than 500 fake websites impersonating the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and seven Home Team agencies were taken down, the ministry said in a press release on Aug. 12.

Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX) detected the websites on Aug. 10, and all identified websites were taken down by Aug. 11.

The seven agencies included the HTX, Singapore Police Force (SPF), Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB), Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA), Singapore Prison Service (SPS), and Home Team Academy (HTA).

Replicated branding

The fake websites replicated the official branding and publicly available content from the websites of MHA and the affected Home Team agencies, MHA said.

This could have potentially misled members of the public into believing that they were accessing official MHA or Home Team agency websites, the ministry noted.

There was no evidence that the fake websites were used to perpetrate scams or phish for information from members of the public, it added.

There was also no evidence that the systems of MHA or Home Team agencies were compromised or accessed without authorisation.

Advisory

The ministry advised members of the public to remain vigilant when accessing websites purporting to belong to MHA or Home Team agencies.

They are advised to take the following precautions:

• Verify the website address: Official Government websites end with .gov.sg. Always check the website address carefully before providing any personal or sensitive information.
• Look out for irregularities: Be alert to unusual website addresses, spelling or grammatical errors, poor-quality images, broken links, or pages and functions that do not work as expected.
• Access Government services through official channels: Where possible, access Government websites through official agency websites, the gov.sg portal, or by typing website addresses directly into browsers instead of clicking on links from unsolicited messages, emails, social media posts or advertisements.

Those who encounter any suspicious websites purporting to be official MHA or Home Team agency sites are encouraged to report them to the Police via the ScamShield Helpline at 1799, or through this website.

MHA said it will continue to monitor the situation closely and work with the relevant agencies and partners to identify and take appropriate action against any websites that impersonate MHA or Home Team agencies.

More than 2.4 million Singaporeans will get between S$400 and S$600 under the Enhanced Budget 2026 Cost-of-Living Special Payment from Sep. 9, 2026, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said on Aug. 13.

The special payment is for adult Singaporeans living in Singapore who have an assessable income of up to S$100,000 and own no more than one property.

The payout amount depends on the assessable income and annual value of the home of the recipient.

The special payment was first announced by Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong during Budget 2026.

Eligible Singaporeans were to receive between S$200 and S$400.

In April 2026, Senior Minister of State for Finance Jeffrey Siow said the one-off special payment will be topped up by S$200.

This is to provide "more support for the lower-income", MOF said.

Eligible Singaporeans will automatically receive their payments from Sep. 9 and can refer to the GovBenefits website to check their eligibility.

Recipients will receive an SMS notification before and after the payment is credited.

A letter will be sent to the address listed on one's identity card for those without a mobile number registered with Singpass.

Workers’ Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh has been struck off the roll of advocates and solicitors following his conviction for lying under oath.

This comes after his disciplinary case hearing on Aug. 13, where the Law Society of Singapore (LawSoc) sought to get him disbarred.

Singh was previously convicted in February 2025 on two counts of lying under oath to the Committee of Privileges in the Raeesah Khan case.

Singh later lost his appeal in December 2025 and eventually paid a S$14,000 fine.

The short 20-minute hearing on Thursday concluded with the lawyers on both sides discussing the costs and disbursements for the case.

The LawSoc had called for S$6,000 in costs, but would be content with the S$3,000 suggested by Singh's lawyers, according to the society's lawyers.

Singh will pay a total of S$5,808.

Singh, an opposition politician, is a lawyer by profession, though he is currently non-practising.

Threshold not met

In court, both the LawSoc and Singh agreed that the legal threshold to avoid a strike-off in a case involving dishonesty is a high one, and that it is not met.

The LawSoc, represented by Senior Counsel Cavinder Bull from Drew & Napier, argued that in Singh’s case, there are no exceptional circumstances that mitigate a strike-off.

Bull highlighted that Singh’s public roles, as a Member of Parliament (MP) and Leader of the Opposition at the time of the offence, were not such exceptional circumstances. Instead, they aggravate the negative impact of his conduct.

He submitted to the court that Singh should be treated the same as other lawyers, and be struck off the rolls.

Representing Singh, Senior Counsel Chelva Retnam Rajah said Singh does not dispute that dishonesty was an essential element of the offence he had been convicted of.

He added that Singh wanted to say, he always tries his best to act in good faith and sincerity, and will continue to strive to do so in whatever capacity that he has.

After a short break where the three judges huddled together in discussion, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon delivered the verdict, ordering that Singh be struck off the rolls.

As Singh exited the courtroom, he told the media he had no comment, and repeated this outside the Supreme Court.

Court of Three Judges

The case was presided over by the Court of Three Judges comprising Chief Justice Menon, alongside Justice Kannan Ramesh and Justice See Kee Oon.

The Court of Three Judges is the legal profession's highest disciplinary tribunal.

It has the power to suspend lawyers from practice or have them struck off the rolls of advocates and solicitors.

LawSoc is represented by lawyers from Drew & Napier, including Bull, who is also its chief executive officer.

Singh is represented by lawyers from Peter Low Chambers, including Peter Cuthbert Low and Chelva as the instructed counsel.

What the law says

LawSoc said in March 2026 that it initiated disciplinary proceedings against Singh as required under the Legal Profession Act, following his court conviction, CNA reported.

It said it had done so based on information received from the Attorney-General's Chambers that Singh had been convicted of offences involving "fraud or dishonesty", according to The Straits Times.

Section 94A of the Legal Profession Act stipulates that LawSoc must, without further direction, initiate disciplinary proceedings where a regulated legal practitioner has been convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty.

The legal practitioner may be struck off the rolls.

They may also be suspended from practice for up to five years, fined up to S$100,000 or be censured.

Notable figures in Singapore who have been struck off the rolls include Charles Yeo, and the late M Ravi, while Lim Tean has also been called by LawSoc to be struck off.

Former Deputy Prime Minister S. Jayakumar launched a new book, Creating Three Unique Singapore Laws, on Aug. 12.

By unveiling the behind-the-scenes discussions that went into the enactment of three constitutional innovations—the Elected Presidency, Group Representation Constituencies (GRC), and Non-Constituency Members of Parliament (NCMP) schemes—Jayakumar hopes to lift the veil of secrecy surrounding how the Cabinet discusses important matters.

The 87-year-old also aims to open a window for more people to appreciate founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew's farsightedness, and to dispel the myth that Lee was someone who "brooked no dissent."

According to Jayakumar, all three schemes were initially proposed by Lee, but underwent alterations through Cabinet discussions before being included in the Singapore Constitution.

Lifting a veil of secrecy

First, it aims to "lift a veil of secrecy" surrounding the internal deliberations of the PAP government, which has always kept a tight lid on such discussions.

These discussions were "detailed, thorough and robust" and the book reveals the arguments, rebuttals, dynamics and personalities involved, as well as how compromise and consensus were achieved, "all with one thought in the mind of all levels of Cabinet: What will be in the interest of Singapore?"

It would be a pity if the public did not have this insight into the way Cabinet discusses important matters, Jayakumar said.

On Lee Kuan Yew's far-sightedness

Secondly, the book is intended to offer an insight into Lee's far-sightedness and leadership style when interacting with his leadership team.

Lee spent "all his waking hours" thinking about how to keep Singapore going, Jayakumar said.

His vision goes far beyond his lifetime and that is special, he added.

Using the GRC system as an example, which some criticised to be used to "fix the opposition", Jayakumar said that Lee came up with it to ensure the minority representation as far back as in the 70s.

"In the early 70s, he wrote a letter to all the PAP MPs expressing a deep concern for Malay PAP MPs, how they could effectively operate and function in a constituency which, at that time, was more predominantly Chinese-speaking than now, where many are English-speaking," he said.

Lee Kuan Yew was headstrong but willing to be persuaded

Lastly, the details in the book serve to dispel the misconception that Lee was an unyielding leader who refused to allow differing opinions.

"The first myth is about Mr Lee Kuan Yew – that he was such a towering figure with such strong views – some say fierce.

The myth was he brooks no dissent...and any proposal that he had, he will just ram through."

The book shows that while Lee was "very headstrong", he was willing to listen to contrary views, though with cogent arguments.

During the creation of these three laws, younger ministers at the time held their ground or proposed alternatives, contrary to beliefs that they were merely "yes-men".

According to the book, Lee had originally intended to vest the President with extensive executive powers, but this was later altered to grant custodial powers instead to prevent an abuse of power.

This came after then-younger ministers, including former president Tony Tan and former prime minister Goh Chok Tong, voiced concerns about an over-concentration of power in a single person.

Related story

Three novel laws established in Singapore's Constitution, namely the Elected Presidency, the Group Representation Constituencies (GRC) and Non-Constituency Members of Parliament (NCMP), have "served Singapore well", said Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

SM Lee was speaking at the Aug. 12 launch of "Creating Three Unique Singapore Laws", a new book by former Deputy Prime Minister S. Jayakumar.

The book "sheds light on how the leadership team worked behind those doors. How open they were to radical, out-of-the-box ideas. How intensely but objectively they argued with one another. How Mr Lee Kuan Yew, as Prime Minister, put forth his views robustly, yet repeatedly and indeed obsessively sought alternative perspectives," SM Lee described.

The book launch, held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was attended by a host of dignitaries, including all living former prime ministers as well as past and present Cabinet members.

Served Singapore well

In his speech, SM Lee said the true test of these institutions was in how they would work out in practice over the years and changes in governments.

"Looking back now after nearly half a century, we can safely say that these three institutions have indeed served Singapore well."

He further elaborated:

On the Elected Presidency, enacted in 1991, SM Lee said successive governments and elected presidents have continued operating this system of checks and balances.

While the detailed working have continued to be refined, the core concept – that each elected government should spend within its means, and only draw on past reserves with the consent of the Elected President – remains unchanged.

The results are evident even in the modern day, he explained.

A 'custom-made' Constitution for Singapore

Singapore's Constitution has been shaped over the years to suit our needs, said SM Lee.

Unlike other countries like India and the U.S., where constitutional architecture was designed from the ground-up, a newly-independent Singapore did not have the luxury of time.

Instead, the nation cobbled together a "patchwork Constitution" in a hurry, he said.

He cited Lee Kuan Yew's rejection of a theoretically redrafted Constitution over his belief "it would not work in practice", in favour of a "custom-made" one.

In the elder Lee's words in Parliament in 1984,

"Constitutions have to be custom-made, tailored to suit the peculiarities of the person wearing the suit.

Perhaps... like shoes, the older they are, the better they fit. Stretch them, soften them, resole them, repair them.

They are always better than a brand new pair of shoes."

The redrafted Constitution, drafted by British legal experts, lacked an intimate understanding of Singapore’s society and ground realities, SM Lee said.

"Elegant as their draft was, [Lee Kuan Yew] judged it ill-suited to the local context."

In Jayakumar's book, this was vividly described through the amendments to include the three institutions, he added.

After more than three decades of refinements and revisions, these institutions are no longer "recent alterations to our old shoes, but have themselves been stretched, softened, smoothed, and re-patched, to become essential parts of the whole", SM Lee said.

Fans slammed the ticketing system after failing to get tickets to the Asean Championship semi-final between Singapore and Thailand at Jalan Besar Stadium.

Tickets for the Aug. 15 football game went on sale at 11am on Aug. 12 exclusively through the online platform Tickethotline.

More than 4,000 home-supporter tickets were released, according to The Straits Times.

Due to overwhelming demand, they were snapped up almost immediately after sales started.

Soon after, tickets popped up on Carousell, offered for resale at as much as S$1,500 for a pair of Cat 1 tickets.

That is about 15 times more than their original price at S$49 each along with a S$3.49 booking fee.

Like 'playing whack-a-mole'

A Mothership reader said she was on the website waiting to snag tickets from 10:45am that morning.

After joining a virtual queue, she had to wait again until around 11:20am when she finally entered the page to select her seats.

There, it was a fight to get one.

When a section of tickets became available, it would light up on the page. But when she clicked on it, the light would disappear quickly as the seats got suddenly taken.

She likened the experience to "playing whack-a-mole", which was echoed by several other fans on Instagram.

She spent the next 40 minutes chasing for a seat to no avail.

By 11:45am, the platform informed her that all seats were "currently reserved by customers completing their purchases".

'Extremely frustrating'

When the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) thanked fans on Instagram for their support in purchasing tickets, many expressed their frustration in the comments.

A user claimed they entered the ticketing page at 10:50am that morning and was not able to select any seat.

Another shared that they were waiting on the platform since 10:30am, but all the tickets were gone when it got to their turn.

Many speculated that people were using bots to grab tickets fast and then resell at high prices later.

They called for FAS to improve the ticketing system to clamp down on bots and scalpers.

"We understand that demand is high, but it is really frustrating for genuine Singapore fans who make the effort to queue early and still cannot secure tickets," an Instagram user commented.

"Could FAS please look into the ticket allocation, queue system and measures to prevent scalping/reselling at inflated prices?"

Those who did not manage to grab tickets can still watch the game live on MeWatch, and at community screenings at venues across Singapore, including Bishan Community Club, Our Tampines Hub, and One Punggol.