A total of 380 offences involving illegal vehicle modifications were spotted islandwide in Singapore.

In a Facebook post on Jun. 26, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said the violations spotted were part of islandwide enforcement operations.

A toal of 70 vehicles were fitted with illegal exhausts, 80 vehicles were caught with improper lights, and 90 vehicles displayed improper number plates, including those with incorrect sizing or which were not prominently displayed at the front and back of the vehicle.

In the post, a motorcycle was seen fitted with an illegal exhaust and an improperly sized number plate.

Here's another motorcycle which was fitted with improperly sized number plates.

A BMW was seen fitted with a laser-engraved number plate.

Laser engravings affect the plate's visibility, LTA noted.

The offence of illegal modifications carries a fine of up to S$20,000, two years’ jail, or both.

The offence of placing improper number plates carries a fine of up to S$1,000, three months’ jail, or both.

Repeat offenders face double the penalties for both offences.

The Singapore police have arrested a 41-year-old woman for her suspected involvement in the online sale of counterfeit goods via social media platform TikTok.

On Jun. 25, 2026, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department conducted a raid in the vicinity of Yishun Street 61.

More than 700 purported trademark-infringing goods comprising luxury bags, wallets, watches, sunglasses, apparel, footwear, and accessories were seized during the operation.

The estimated street value of the seized items was more than S$34,000.

Police investigations are ongoing.

Penalties

Under the Trade Marks Act 1998, the offence of possession of goods with falsely applied trademarks for the purpose of trade carries a fine of up to S$100,000, a jail term of up to five years, or both.

The police said they take a serious view of intellectual property rights infringement and would like to remind the public that the distribution and sale of counterfeit goods, including through online platforms, are serious offences.

The police added that they will not hesitate to take tough action against those who profit at the expense of legitimate businesses and consumers.

A 29-year-old Singaporean man was sentenced to four months and three weeks’ jail after using a Swiss Army Knife to slash a man who was drinking with his girlfriend.

Brandon Tan Ming Hui pleaded guilty to a charge of voluntarily causing hurt by using a weapon on Jun. 25.

Girlfriend

On Mar. 15, 2025, Tan attempted to contact his girlfriend and noticed that her attitude was unusual, Shin Min Daily News reported.

Tan’s girlfriend attempted to hang up on him, which reportedly angered him.

At about 7pm that day, he contacted his girlfriend again and learned she was drinking with friends at a bar located at CityLink Mall.

Tan went to the bar and saw his girlfriend drinking at a table with two men.

He was reportedly jealous and confronted them.

Tan reportedly demanded to know if they were aware that he and his girlfriend were in a relationship.

One of the men, a 41-year-old, claimed his girlfriend said she was single.

He then explained that they were having drinks as friends.

Slash

In charge sheets seen by Mothership, at about 8:23pm, Tan used a knife and slashed the man on his "right and left hand shoulder".

Tan then fled the scene.

The 41-year-old was conveyed to the hospital for treatment.

He had numbness in his left index finger and lacerations on both hands.

Genting

According to Shin Min, Tan proceeded to the hotel where his girlfriend stayed and discarded the weapon along the way.

He then packed his luggage and waited for his girlfriend to return to the hotel.

When she arrived, he urged her to pack her belongings, claiming that he was taking her to Genting in Malaysia.

A friend of Tan picked him and his girlfriend up and drove them to Woodlands Checkpoint, where Tan was subsequently arrested.

Knife

Shin Min reported that Tan's lawyers claimed he was a deliveryman and the knife he carried was used to open parcels.

His lawyer also argued that there was no evidence indicating that Tan brought the knife intending to inflict harm.

The knife was discarded as it was apparently old and damaged.

The prosecution argued that the 41-year-old was unarmed at the time of the incident and did not provoke Tan.

A premeditated element to Tan's actions was also alleged, citing that he brought the knife and attempted to remove the two men from the bar to confront them.

The prosecution further cited that Tan not only destroyed evidence by discarding the knife but also attempted to leave Singapore.

After being asked by a friend, a 30-year-old Malaysian man signed up to work in a Cambodian scam call centre operated by a syndicate running impersonation scams.

According to CNA, he was fired by the scam syndicate for poor performance after three days for failing to make any successful scam calls during that period.

He was arrested in Singapore, charged with scam offences and sentenced to 16 months' and two weeks' jail.

Introduced to scam work by a friend

In October 2024, the man, Yip Chee Ming, got to know a friend named "Jason" at a bar in Kuala Lumpur, Shin Min Daily News reported, citing court documents.

"Jason" told Yip about an opportunity to work at a scam call centre in Cambodia.

He told Yip that he wanted to give the work a try, but did not dare do it alone.

Yip agreed to join "Jason".

Both men were later added to a Telegram group chat.

The scam syndicate leader shared with them the terms of the job, claiming that it would pay about US$10,000 (S$12,961) a month.

They were also told that their travels would be covered by the syndicate.

Visited scam compound

Both Yip and "Jason" then travelled to Cambodia and visited the scam compound.

There, Yip got to witness 32 scam call operators work in a soundproof room.

After returning to Malaysia, Yip decided to join the syndicate.

Failed to deliver lines, scam victims

On Nov. 21, he flew to Cambodia and took on the job.

Yip later learned that the monthly pay was actually US$1,800 (S$2,333), along with a one per cent commission on any proceeds from scam victims, Shin Min wrote.

All payments were made in cryptocurrency.

The syndicate leader explained to Yip how the scam worked and pointed out that their main targets were Singaporeans.

Yip was assigned to be a scam call operator and had to impersonate a bank official.

Yip was given a phone, a list of phone numbers of Singaporean victims and a script.

However, Yip could not deliver the lines, despite having memorised the script.

He failed to succeed in any of his scam attempts.

Three days later, he was fired and sent back to Malaysia.

Arrested and jailed

In February 2025, Yip started working as a delivery driver in Singapore and took home about S$2,300 a month.

He was arrested on Sep. 9.

Delivering the sentence, the judge pointed out that Yip returned to Malaysia not because he had a change of heart, but because he was fired, Shin Min reported.

According to CNA, Yip's lawyer cited his cooperation with authorities and the fact that he did not make a "single successful scam call.

It was heard in court that the authorities received 528 cases regarding government official impersonation scams, Shin Min wrote.

The victims ranged from those aged 26 to 84.

About S$11.8 million was scammed from victims aged 65 and above, Shin Min wrote.

The Singapore Police Force and the Cambodian police launched a raid against a scam syndicate running a government impersonation scam on Sep. 9, 2025.

To date, 21 individuals related to the syndicate have been arrested. 31 are still on the run, according to Shin Min.

To kick off the World Cup 2026 festivities in Singapore, Changi Airport Group (CAG) released a film on Jun. 11 featuring local football personalities like coach Gavin Lee and footballers Hariss Harun, Jacob Mahler and Shawal Anuar.

The action-packed film follows the personalities passing the ball across attractions in Changi Airport and Jewel.

You can watch the film here:

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) (@changiairport)

On Jun. 25, CAG revealed six Easter eggs that viewers might have missed from the film.

1) A cameo from a familiar voice

At the 0:21 mark, eagle-eyed (or rather, sharp-eared) viewers could have spotted Ravi Maan, a prominent sports presenter from Singapore.

2) A literary Easter egg

Right before Acting Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow delivered an impressive kick at 0:45, he was actually reading "The Original Daughter", a book written by Singaporean writer and influencer Jemimah Wei.

According to CAG, the author shared that most of the novel was written in Jewel Changi Airport.

3) A nod to the Lions' Asian Cup qualification

At the 0:50 mark, the football match playing on the screen happened to be the match where the Singapore national football team qualified for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.

The Lions had played against Hong Kong at the Tai Kak Stadium, winning by a score of 2-1.

4) Gavin Lee hits the "6 7" & 5) Some support from the SingaBrigade

If you blinked at 0:53, you might have missed the national team's head coach Gavin Lee doing the internet's favourite brain root moment of the year: The "6 7" hand gesture.

About 20 seconds later, at 1:17, the travellers looking down from the Skytrain are members of SingaBrigade, the national football team's official fan group.

6) Kyoga Nakamura's jersey number cameo

And around 1:32 mark, while travellers were collecting their baggage at baggage belt 46, national footballer Kyoga Nakamura swoops in for a kick.

Coincidentally, the belt number is the same as Nakamura's jersey number at Lion City Sailors.

World Cup matches screening at T3 public area

If this gets you in the mood for the World Cup, you'd be glad to know that there are free match screenings at Terminal 3.

When I officially graduated and signed the contract for my first full-time job, I felt like a fully functioning adult with a glimmer in my eyes.

Then I realised being an adult comes with actual responsibilities like paying bills. A lot of them. Every month. Forever.

This made me a lot more intentional about knowing what I’m paying for and how these things serve me. One of these things being my phone bill.

It was as if the universe heard my adulting woes and had my boss task me to try the gigaFLEX+ plan.

For starters, the plan comes with a massive 800GB of 5G data. Yeah, you read that right.

Can I finish all of that in a month? Unlikely, but now I don’t feel the urge to incessantly check my data usage meter every five minutes. I stream and scroll with total, reckless abandon.

But as someone trying to survive the 9-6 grind, all that data doesn’t matter as much as how seamless it feels.

8am: The underground commute survival test

My day usually starts with the battle for space on the train like all the other morning commuters heading to work.

To cope with the claustrophobia of being packed like sardines with other working adults, I pull out my phone and hop on Instagram for an algorithm of cute animals, cooking videos, and sports highlights.

Anyone who commutes via Singapore’s underground tunnels is familiar with the dreaded buffering circle. There is nothing worse than being left on a cliffhanger right as the train enters a reception black hole between stations.

Fortunately, when I’m deep underground with thousands of other commuters fighting for bandwidth, my videos stream flawlessly in high definition and I do not lose my will to clock in.

9:30am: Weaponising AI at the workplace

Once I reach the office, the real work begins. I spend a lot of my day writing; presentation decks, e-mails, texts (if clients unfortunately have my phone number), summaries, reports – the list goes on.

To stay efficient and impress my boss (who I hope is reading), I utilise various AI tools throughout the day to do all my tasks within office hours. That way I don’t have to OT and she’s also happy with my work. Everyone wins.

Whether I’m summarising long research reports, cleaning up my spreadsheet data because I exaggerated about knowing how to use Excel in my resume, or brainstorming angles for my next pitch deck, AI tools are there for me.

And because the gigaFLEX+ plan knows I need it, it features free gigaAI – their interface where I have unlimited access to the paid versions of practically every AI model I use on the regular. This includes 300 image generations a month too.

Without having to pay through my nose with money I don’t have for ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude subscriptions individually, I get to use them all because they are bundled into my phone bill for free.

Claude’s pro subscription alone would put me S$30 in the hole every month.

Never again do I need to wish I had more tokens for that additional prompt.

1pm: Last-minute travel planning (without the roaming bills)

Lunch break is usually spent with my colleagues, where our favorite topic of conversation is: “Where are you going for your next leave?”

Being in your first job means you finally have your own disposable income.

This means more getaways to nearby Southeast Asian countries for a quick recharge.

While my colleagues discuss temporary overseas eSIMs options, I realise the gigaFLEX+plan’s 800GB of 5G data can be used in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand as part of the local pool. The best part? It can be rolled over every month.

The moment I cross the causeway or touch down in Bangkok, my phone will instantly hook onto the local network.

On top of that, it’s bundled with 12GB of roaming data within Asia and 10GB of roaming data everywhere else in the world, forever.

No switching SIMs or excess charges, and one less thing to budget for.

6:30pm: Unwinding with the ultimate reward

By the time the clock strikes 6pm, my brain is fueled entirely by one thought: I need a treat.

To reward myself for wrapping up a busy day, I make a celebratory pitstop at PlayMade.

And here’s where the gigaFLEX+ plan delivers the sweetest perk of all: a free bubble tea every month.

It’s nice knowing that giga! understands that a sweet drink is exactly what I need every now and then after a long day. After all, it’s a lifestyle perk that goes a long way on top of giving me enough data to practically run a small country.

Is it worth it for Gen Z’s trying to adult?

When you’re navigating your first job, you’re trying to balance your budget while still maximizing your freedom.

Whether you’re looking for a whopping amount of data that you couldn’t possibly burn through in a month, cross-border convenience, free built-in AI support, or a monthly bubble tea treat, you can now get them all with gigaFLEX+ 800GB 5G plan.

For the first 9,999 users, aged 15 to 29, you can enjoy the plan at S$13.90/month for the first 12 months (U.P. S$19.90/month).

Find out more about the gigaFLEX+ plan and sign up via the giga! app or visit giga’s website today.

Writing this branded article made the writer switch his telco to giga!, the telco that understands the adulting struggle.

Cover photo by Mothership.

Should foreign domestic workers in Singapore use condominium facilities?

One of them was apparently barred from doing so in the condominium she resides and works at.

This issue regarding discrimination was surfaced by the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME), which raised the topic in a Jun. 22, 2026 Instagram post.

Exclusion allowed?

In the post, the non-profit organisation asked its audience if they were aware that domestic workers "can be excluded from using communal facilities in the very condos they live in"?

HOME said an employer had e-mailed them, recounting an incident where their domestic helper, Angie (not her real name), was not allowed to use the condo's gym.

Angie's employer shared that the incident occurred in April 2026.

The domestic worker was allegedly confronted by a cleaner at the condo's gym and told she was not allowed to use the facilities.

The cleaner also called down a member of the condo management to confirm this.

The cleaner and management member then apparently "stood over her as she packed her things".

Left shaken but by-laws state it clearly

Angie was left “shaken and upset”.

Her employer subsequently looked into the condo’s by-laws.

They found that the by-laws explicitly barred domestic workers from using recreational facilities.

One clause read: “Only residents and their guests but not their employees may use the gymnasium/fitness corner.”

Another line added that “member of the family” does not include “guests, servants, or agents of the occupier”.

An occupier was defined as the tenant and members of the occupier’s family.

As spelled out in the by-law, a domestic worker could be referred to as a "servant" of the occupier.

Angie's employer called out the “intimidating conduct” the domestic worker faced, as well as pointed out how the situation was handled.

She noted that "Angie lives at this estate full-time" but is "excluded from facilities that guests — people with no connection to the building — are permitted to use".

The post added: “Angie was shaken and distressed. I found this deeply troubling, both the existence of the rule and the manner of its enforcement. I am bringing this to HOME’s attention because I understand this reflects a broader pattern affecting domestic workers across Singapore’s private estates.”

Condo policies vary

According to HOME, condominium policies vary and are set by condominium owners.

Some estates allow domestic workers to use facilities with conditions, such as only while supervising children, while others prohibit domestic workers from using the facilities altogether.

Some do not have such by-laws or rules.

“A condo can set rules on overcrowding, safety, noise and cleanliness. But banning someone based on their work permit status or occupation is discriminatory,” said HOME.

"Condo by-laws should target behaviour, not people," HOME added.

HOME stated that migrant domestic workers should be treated as a part of Singapore's residential communities, and called for change, by urging residents to review estate rules to support fair access and propose amendments at future meetings.

Not a new topic

This topic of foreign domestic workers being given access to private property facilities is not new.

In 2016, it made international headlines after it was reported that foreign domestic workers were not allowed to use swimming pools in condominiums in Singapore.

The news was met with outrage, as well as some pushback from private property owners, who cited issues of noise and disamenities as counterarguments.

It was also reported at the time that having by-laws did not necessarily mean that they were enforced.

A customer who purchased five 500g boxes of durian from a Singapore retailer allegedly requested a refund twice after claiming the fruit was unsatisfactory.

The seller, Uncle Max of SYR Trading in Bukit Batok, recounted the incident in a TikTok video posted on Jun. 23.

According to Uncle Max, the customer ordered the five boxes of durian on Jun. 21 before requesting a refund, claiming the fruit was "unripe".

The seller then replaced the order with another five boxes of durian. However, the customer later sought a second refund, alleging that the replacement fruit was "sour".

First refund

A spokesperson from SYR Trading told Mothership that as a gesture of goodwill, Uncle Max had replaced all five boxes without dispute.

"What I always do is to make the customer happy. I try my best," Uncle Max said in his video.

The customer had initially claimed that most of his boxes were "unripe", adding that one box had been eaten by his "landlord", so it could not be inspected.

Despite not getting "complete evidence" of the customer's claim, the store said they chose to give the customer the benefit of the doubt and proceeded with the refund.

They had also expedited the replacement and arranged for their delivery partner to send a fresh set of durians directly from their shop.

Second refund

The store clarified that they offer replacements when customers provide photo evidence showing that the durians are either sour, unripe, watery, or damaged during delivery.

"Even if the issue isn't clearly visible in the photos, we will still give our customers the benefit of the doubt and honour the replacement," the store said.

Upon receiving the replacement, the customer went on the shop's TikTok livestream to praise them and said the replacement was "excellent".

However, five days later, he claimed that the durians in all of the replacement boxes were "sour", and requested a full refund on their TikTok shop.

"At that point, we felt we had already gone beyond our standard replacement policy by replacing the entire order in good faith," the store said.

"Our video was intended to provide our perspective on the incident and explain why we felt the situation was unfair after we had already gone above and beyond to resolve the customer's concerns."

A patron at a Chinese restaurant at Vivocity was tickled after noticing that his order chit was printed entirely in Mandarin and encountering a server who did not know how to speak English.

"Lucky I know how to say he shui (drink water)," the patron quipped.

While the patron found it a "non-issue", the restaurant said that a Mandarin-only order chit is something they should have "considered more carefully".

It added that it will take steps to add bilingual wording to customer-facing order chits and bills as soon as possible.

Language barrier

The patron shared about the experience in a TikTok clip.

In the caption, the user, @azxr.i, wrote, "Lost Melayu in Vivocity".

The hashtag referred to Alijiang, which, according to its website, is a restaurant "serving Xinjiang flavours".

Its Vivocity location is its only outlet.

"I go to this place I makan, first of all the server cannot speak English," the user recounted with a smile.

Thankfully, he could manage some Mandarin vocabulary, the user shared.

He then referred to the order chit given to him, which was printed entirely in Mandarin.

"You tell me, I want to read what?" the user said while cackling.

Not meant to be negative

Speaking to Mothership, the user, Azri, said he visited the restaurant at around 2pm on Jun. 25.

He was with his fiancée, who was similarly unable to converse fluently in Mandarin.

On the experience, Azri said he felt "amused" as it was the first time this had happened to him in Singapore.

He said that ultimately, it was a "non-issue" because he was able to converse in "some basic conversational Mandarin" and also used "contextual clues" to figure things out.

He emphasised that his post was not meant to direct negativity at the restaurant or its staff.

"I just thought it was funny and just for gags," Azri commented.

He also said that he would "100 per cent" visit the restaurant again as the food was "very very good".

Bilingual wording to be added to customer-facing chits and bills: Restaurant

Responding to Mothership's queries, the restaurant, Alijiang, said that it was aware of the TikTok clip and has reviewed the feedback.

"While the diner appeared to take the experience in good humour, we acknowledge that an order chit printed only in Mandarin may be difficult for non-Mandarin-speaking guests to understand, and this is something we should have considered more carefully," the restaurant said.

It also explained that the Mandarin wording on the order chit was originally used for "operational and kitchen accuracy".

"We agree that customer-facing order chits and bills should be more accessible," the restaurant said.

Alijiang shared that it was taking steps to include bilingual wording on its customer-facing order chits and bills "as soon as possible".

"In the meantime, we have also reminded our service team to proactively assist guests who may need help understanding their orders or bills," it added.

"We appreciate the feedback and will use this as an opportunity to improve the experience for all guests," the restaurant said.

After mounting a kerb and colliding with a lamppost and road sign, packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes apparently fell out of the engine compartment of a Malaysian-registered car.

An eyewitness later saw the driver fleeing the scene.

Duty-unpaid cigarettes

According to Shin Min Daily News, the accident took place at around 9am on Jun. 26 at a junction in Choa Chu Kang, near Brickland Road.

One passer-by, Wang (transiteration), 37, told Shin Min that when she drove past the incident site, she saw the Malaysian-registered car mounted on the road divider.

The nearby road sign had also toppled as a result of the collision.

"It was probably a recent accident at the time as the police had not arrived. There were a number of duty-unpaid cigarettes under the car. The driver was nowhere to be seen. Not sure if he had fled," Wang said.

When Shin Min reached the scene, the police had already arrived and set up a cordon.

The front right wheel of the car was suspended in the air, while the front of the car was badly damaged

Parts of the car had also come loose.

Police officers were seen inspecting the undercarriage of the car.

It is believed that the illegal cigarettes fell due to the force of impact, Shin Min wrote.

Singapore Customs officers at the scene

At around 12pm, officers from Singapore Customs also arrived at the scene.

They opened up the hood of the engine compartment and discovered more duty-unpaid cigarettes.

They spent about two minutes retrieving over 10 bundles of illegal cigarettes and placing them in a box before taking them away.

The police were also observed placing evidence tags as they conducted their investigation.

A contractor who arrived at the site told Shin Min that he was informed by the Land Transport Authority to conduct checks on the road sign after the car had been towed away.

Driver appeared normal, but fled the scene

Another eyewitness, Zhou (transliteration), 60, said that he heard a loud crash at the time of the incident.

After the crash, Zhou said he saw a male driver, who looked to be about 30 to 40 years old, alighting from the car.

"He looked normal and did not appear to be swaying about," Zhou said.

"I thought he would call the police, but he ran away instead," he added.

Car believed to have self-skidded

Responding to Mothership's queries, a Singapore Police Force (SPF) spokesperson said that the police were alerted at 9am on jun. 26 to an accident involving a car which was believed to have self-skidded along KJE slip road into Brickland Road.

The driver of the car left the scene before the police arrived.

A 33-year-old male car driver was subsequently arrested for driving without a valid license.

Items believed to be duty-unpaid cigarettes were found in the car.

"Customs-related offences will be referred to Singapore Customs," the spokesperson said.

Police investigations are ongoing.