A routine shower turned into a nightmare for a 19-year-old woman in Singapore when she caught a phone recording her through the bathroom window.

The woman screamed, and the suspect immediately fled.

Police investigations later revealed that a 20-year-old man had previously filmed both her and her mother on multiple occasions.

The victims are the 19-year-old woman and her 55-year-old mother.

The court issued a gag order to protect the victims' identities.

The man pleaded guilty on Oct. 27 to two counts of voyeurism, reported Shin Min Daily News.

One other charge for voyeurism will be taken into consideration during sentencing.

His sentencing has been adjourned to Dec. 17.

Peered into flat from fitness corner

On Apr. 8, 2026, the man had gone to a fitness corner in a Housing and Development Board (HDB) estate at around 9:20pm.

As he walked past the victim's flat, he climbed onto a ledge to peer into the room, Shin Min reported.

As the curtains were drawn, he was not able to see anyone inside and returned to the fitness corner.

About 30 minutes later, he heard the sound of someone showering coming from the unit.

He walked over to the exterior of the bathroom and slid his phone through the bathroom window to secretly record the woman showering.

He fled after hearing the woman scream.

Recorded both mother and daughter previously

The victim's mother subsequently called the police.

Authorities later established the man's identity and found more illicit recordings on his phone, including one taken on Mar. 22 of the mother in the bathroom.

Between Mar. 30 and Apr. 8, he also recorded 10 videos of the young woman showering, changing, or using the toilet.

The court reportedly heard that the young woman felt distressed, vulnerable, and unsafe in her own home following the incident.

The family now ensure that their bathroom window is shut before taking a shower.

Abdul El-Sayed is a very qualified individual.

The 41-year-old, who is running to become a U.S. senator to represent the state of Michigan in the Nov. 3 midterm elections, is a trained medical doctor, but also has a PhD from Oxford.

He also has a history of public service, having served as a health director for the city of Detroit when he was only 30.

If elected, he would be one of the youngest members of a Senate where the majority are over the age of 65.

He would also be the first Muslim senator in U.S. history, and is one of only two to have attempted to win the role.

Naming distractions

Ever since he won the Democratic nomination for senator for Michigan in August, he has faced discrimination that specifically targets his religion through ads, U.S. President Donald Trump mocking him from the rally stages, and being confronted at events for things that happened before he was born.

So whether he wanted it to be or not, El-Sayed’s religion has been put front and center, and his contest against Republican Mike Rogers has become as much about how he deals with it as it has been about his policy positions.

Over the past month, he has faced two distinct strands of attack regarding his religion: one from President Trump and another regarding purported links to an Egyptian fundamentalist religious group, the Muslim Brotherhood.

Trump has insulted El-Sayed on multiple occasions throughout October, including in a Truth Social post where he misnames him as Mohamed El-Sayed, only to "correct'"himself at a later rally by mocking his name again from the rally podium.

El-Sayed bit back, issuing a statement saying “He (Trump) knows my name is Abdul,” but that Trump was pretending to forget in order to distract voters from Trump’s own bad policies that had led to increased energy prices, grocery prices, and medical costs.

Muslim Brotherhood

He has also faced accusations of ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. The claims centre on social media posts from 2012 and 2013 by his half-sister, who wrote that their mother was active in the Brotherhood in the early 1970s, before El-Sayed was born.

Reports say there is no evidence he was personally involved. He has denied any ties, and said he wasn’t raised by his mother.

El-Sayed was also the target of a Republican audience member who challenged him to disavow the Muslim Brotherhood at a town hall. The exchange quickly went viral, with El-Sayed praised for the nature of his takedown.

CNN quotes him as telling the man that “You assume… that because I am Muslim, that somehow I would have some allegiance to something that is not our Constitution.”

In his rebuttal, he referenced the reply of John F. Kennedy, who, as a Catholic, was accused of having a dual loyalty to the Vatican.

Kennedy had said at the time that he was not running to be a Catholic president; he was running for president and happened to be Catholic.

El-Sayed said that he was not running to be “a Muslim senator; I am running for Senate and happen to be Muslim.”

Polling...

But whether he wants religion to be front and centre for his campaign, it is.

As election day looms and early voting in much of the U.S. has started, he continues to be a target for Republican figures like Trump.

El-Sayed, as of Oct. 28, is leading his race by 3.3 percentage points at 48.8 per cent according to the Silver Bulletin, just outside the margin of error, although it should be noted that Michigan voted for Trump over Kamala Harris in 2024.

This is in an environment where a generic Democrat is more popular than their Republican counterpart by 9.2 percentage points, implying that El-Sayed is lagging in popularity.

... and policy positions

He has, on numerous occasions, said that he should be judged on his actions rather than his religion.

His main campaign policy is a call for universal healthcare, or “Medicare-for-all”, complaining about the dismal state of public healthcare in the U.S.

He is labelled a progressive and is often accused of being a socialist, but the latter is a label he rejects.

El-Sayed has been endorsed by several figures on the Democratic Party’s left, Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, but he has called himself a “capitalist”, although he has said that the U.S. is not a capitalist economy, but a "corporatist" one.

In his view, corporatism has eliminated competition in the U.S., locking in consumers to a mere handful of different options, essentially forming an oligopoly.

He has also called for a wealth tax, saying that he’d rather have an economy of “1,000 millionaires than one billionaire.”

He is also, like many progressive Democrats, critical of U.S. support for Israel, although he said he would support any outcome that "a free Palestinian people and a free Jewish Israeli people decide is the right outcome."

Religious attacks

These are positions that would single him out for attack as a socialist by Republicans, and indeed many others with similar positions have been.

But for El-Sayed, the dominating narratives are about his religion, and to a lesser extent, his ethnic background.

His response has been consistent throughout, saying that attacks on his faith are distractions from economic policy failure.

Trump, in recent days, has renewed his verbal assaults, calling him a jihadist who would be the only senator that will have to go through a metal detector before he’s allowed to go in the Senate, as quoted by the BBC.

On Oct. 24, Hong Kong star Julian Cheung broke down in tears on stage while performing in Foshan over the passing of a close friend.

Cheung said that he wanted to dedicate the song “Ten years of life” to a good friend.

Choking up, Cheung said “Because he just left me. My good friend Lawrence, we were brothers who played mahjong for decades, and now I’ll be missing one player for mahjong”.

Anita Yuen was in the crowd, and seeing her husband on stage, she shed tears in the audience as well, Lianhe Zaobao reported.

Cheung, Aaron Kwok, Sham Kar-wai (Chingmy Yau’s husband) and Lawrence, a lawyer, have known each other since they were young.

They have remained close for years.

Yuen had once jokingly described the four as "four good-for-nothings".

"They are really useless! Of course, they are successful in their careers, but they are useless when they play."

She revealed that they often met up to play mahjong.

Yuen had also joked a few years ago that she was jealous of her husband and his friends, and that their frequent meet-ups made her feel like a “third party”.

The owner of a coconut shake shop at Serangoon paid more than S$6,000 in an effort to boost their reach.

However, he claimed that it amounted to "almost zero response".

In an interview with Instagram page @bestfoodsg, the owner of Coco Fwens shared both the struggles of running his own business, as well as what made him decide to open one.

He even revealed that he has not drawn a salary after seven months of business.

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Initial hopes

Coco Fwens, run by a husband-and-wife duo, is located opposite Serangoon CC.

The owner, Pradeep Pannirselvam, shared that when he and his wife brought their dog to be groomed one day, they noticed an empty retail space next to the pet groomer.

After doing some research, they concluded that there were "not too many coconut shake shops" in Singapore despite being a very popular item.

They therefore decided to "give it a shot".

However, they soon discovered the difficulty of F&B in Singapore.

When business was slow, he said, they would sell only four cups a day.

S$6000 spent

He thus engaged food bloggers to promote his shop on their platforms.

Despite paying them more than S$3,000, Coco Fwens gained "almost zero response" from their marketing efforts.

Undeterred, he paid another S$3,000 to a food-promotion Telegram group for just a single post.

But that did not get him much business either, he said.

"Before signing up, they showed impressive results and promised good exposure. But after spending the money, the response was almost zero.

Honestly, it hurts. For a small business like ours, $6,000 is a lot of money. That money could have helped us survive a little longer."

From the experience, he learned that cheap rent "doesn't mean it's always going to be a very good location," he said.

He added that another lesson was that a good product was no guarantee that a business would have a steady flow of customers.

No blame

At the end of it all, however, Pradeep does not blame anyone for how business has been turning out.

"Running a business is all about trial and error. If you never try you'll never know," he remarked.

In fact, he stated, perseverance was the essence of running a business.

Even when they do not get any customers, he claimed, he does not take a day off, keeping the shop open.

"I just want to keep the business alive and survive," he said.

He remains hopeful as many of his customers "keep coming back" for his drinks.

"Full support of my wife"

Another source of support is his wife, who also helps out at the shop when she can.

Even though the business is "not where [they want it] to be" yet, his wife has "never complained" or thought of giving up.

This is despite him going seven months without drawing a salary.

Pradeep shared that he and his wife met in secondary school and reconnected after 20 years before getting married.

They both came from lower-income backgrounds, he shared, where money was not always a given.

He believes this contributes to their similar values.

His goal is to build a "better life and a better future for [his] family".

On Dec. 6, 2025, an elderly man approached the passenger service counter at Clementi Bus Interchange.

The man, 86, was visibly panicked. He'd left his wallet on the bus, containing more than S$3,000 in cash — his hard-earned savings — along with bank cards and identification documents.

"I knew he was very worried about it lah. So I thought, I must try my best to help him find his wallet," said Lim Poh Boon, who works as a senior assistant interchange supervisor for SBS Transit.

He traced the man's concession card records and worked with bus captains to search through the different buses until the wallet was found.

On Oct. 28, he was recognised with an Outstanding Award at the Transport Gold Awards for his dedication and service.

Piecing together the journey

Speaking to Mothership, the 54-year-old shared that he had once lost his own wallet on a bus, and knew just how worrying such an experience could be.

He was determined to do what he could to help the passenger recover his belongings.

But when he spoke to the old man, the passenger said he could not remember where he had alighted.

After checking his concession card records, Lim was able to narrow the search down to Service 165.

He then had to figure out exactly which bus the elderly man had boarded.

As the buses pulled into the interchange, Lim approached the bus captains and personally searched the vehicles, checking the seats and aisles for any sign of the missing wallet.

The first few searches turned up nothing.

But after going through a few more buses, their persistence paid off.

A bus captain spotted the wallet tucked beneath a rear seat. The cash, bank cards and identification documents were all intact.

A relieved commuter

When the wallet was returned, the elderly man was overjoyed.

"He was very happy, and kept saying thank you to me," Lim recalled. "Of course, I felt happy and relieved... I know he was very panicked during that moment."

He even offered to treat them to a meal as a gesture of appreciation. But Lim politely turned down the offer.

"I think don't need," he said. “I just did my part."

"I think everyone faces different challenges in their daily lives. A small act of kindness can make a big difference to someone."

From bus fan to bus captain

Helping commuters like the elderly man has been part of Lim's working life for more than a decade.

But even as a child, he "used to be a bus fan", Lim confessed.

"When I was young that time... I used to take a chair, then [sit on] the bed, then pretend I'm driving a bus," he shared.

"Then I'd take a cane, put beside the bed as a gear. And whenever I took the bus I would sit on top, in the first seat. Just pretend I'm a bus driver."

Years later, that childhood fascination would become his profession.

In 2010, Lim — who worked as a florist at the time — decided to make the switch to getting behind the wheel of a bus.

He spent four years as a bus captain before moving into an interchange supervisory role in 2014.

While he misses driving, he said he prefers his current role, where he gets to interact with more people.

"[With] regular commuters, sometimes we make friends with them. Some travel [through here] for many years, from secondary school until university," he told Mothership.

Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto have communicated.

This sets the political commitment on both sides to "do what is necessary" on issues, including haze.

This was shared by Singapore's foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan as he gave a doorstop to Singapore media in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Oct. 28.

It was previously reported that Vivian would be meeting President Prabowo that afternoon, but no details were released.

When asked how the meeting went, Vivian said that he was not at liberty to discuss the details.

But he assured that communication has "occurred at the highest level" between PM Wong and President Prabowo.

"Now we have to implement those plans, execute that commitment," he said.

A joint task force on haze had been announced set up a joint task force to hold companies accountable for forest fires.

Constructive approaches

At the start of the doorstop, Vivian emphasised the need to ensure "high-level direct communication between governments", especially when transboundary events occur.

That was one of the reasons why he made this visit to Jakarta on Oct. 27 — to seek direct explanations, convey concerns, and explore solutions in person with the Indonesian leaders.

He also said that because issues like the haze affect people on the ground in both Indonesia and Singapore, “politics does get involved”. But it is essential to keep looking for “cooperative, collaborative, constructive solutions”, which he said “occupied the bandwidth” of the trip.

He shared that they have had "good" and "honest" conversations during the trip, resulting in "a few constructive approaches".

They are in the midst of implementing some of them now, he added.

He referred to the joint task force that Singapore and Indonesia will form to tackle the forest fires behind the haze, announced after his meeting with his Indonesian counterpart on Oct. 27.

The task force aims to facilitate a collective response, an exchange of information, and synergy, he explained.

This way, the two countries can work together to deter the companies engaging in "such antisocial and, quite frankly, dangerous acts", and make sure that such actions do not recur.

The haze problem has been happening in Southeast Asia for almost three decades, Vivian said.

"That's far too long, and we do need to find solutions."

Singapore has also been exploring enhancing its legislative and policy tools to keep companies accountable regarding the haze, he added.

Political differences are expected

Vivian was also asked about how tensions from the haze and the recent export cuts might affect bilateral relations between Singapore and Indonesia.

He pointed out that when problems arise between interdependent neighbours, there are "bound to be differences in priority [and] differences in approach".

There might even be political and polemic issues, he said.

"But precisely at a moment like this, it's important for cool heads to prevail, for direct, honest, candid, constructive conversations to be had, and for us to look for a collective approach."

He added that "differences are to be expected", even polemic statements from time to time.

"But the Singapore way is to be prepared to be constructive, and to be quietly confident.

And I think we will get through this again in our usual Singapore way. I'm confident of that."

On the contractual obligations for Indonesia's gas export reductions, Vivian assured that there is a "common commitment to the sanctity of contract".

"All sides understand that there is a reason why signatures and contractual obligations matter," he said.

Retained green spaces are to increase by 10 per cent for Maju Forest, while for Gillman Barracks, new and retained green spaces will increase by 20 per cent after the conclusion of the public consultation period from Jul. 10 to Aug. 6.

In a media release on Oct. 28, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) stated that it had revised plans for the proposed housing developments at Sunset Way (also known as Maju Forest) and Gillman Barracks, to allocate more land for greenery and reduce development footprints.

In a doorstop on Oct. 28, Minister of State for National Development Alvin Tan said: "Now based on these revised plans, we will be able to provide some 11,000 new homes for Singaporeans."

"That's around 4,000 for Maju Forest and about 7,000 for Gillman Barracks."

According to the media release, 5,500 of the 7,000 homes at Gillman Barracks are for public housing.

Government plans to "build taller where we can" to retain more greenery

According to the media release, site works are expected to start from the second half of 2027 at Gillman Barracks, with demolitions followed by land preparation works expected to commence in 2029.

Preparation works for Maju Forest will likely begin in the first half of 2028, with public access to the site restricted once works begin.

Tan added in his doorstop: "We will develop both sites progressively over the next decade into homes and neighbourhoods where families can enjoy green spaces, community facilities, and amenities."

In his doorstop, Tan added that the government plans to build "taller where we can" to retain more greenery while ensuring that they can provide more homes for Singaporeans.

When asked for figures regarding the housing trade-off, Tan said that for Maju Forest, it was around 400 units less and for Gillman Barracks it would amount to about a decrease of 800 units.

"So, taking into account all of the considerations, we have found as best as we can a landing spot and also a right balance."

Increase in green areas retained

The revision will expand the retained green areas at Maju Forest from around eight hectares to 10 hectares, which is approximately 45 per cent of the 23-hectare site, up from 35 per cent in the original plan.

Maju Forest's additional retained area lies in the southern part of the site.

For Gillman Barracks, the area set aside for greenery will rise from about eight hectares to 12 hectares, which is approximately 60 per cent of the 20 hectares of existing greenery on site. HDB originally planned to keep about 40 per cent of existing greenery.

The media release noted that more of the forest around a small hill in Gillman Barracks will be retained for a greener front towards Telok Blangah Street 31.

Along Lock Road and Malan Road, the north-south ecological corridor will also be widened.

Refinements guided by scientific studies and public feedback

HDB's media release said that during the public consultation period, feedback submissions received stood at 7,200 for Maju Forest and 2,300 for Gillman Barracks.

Additionally, around 1,000 stakeholders were engaged to better understand the concerns of the community, added the media release.

Feedback for both sites focused on concerns over the impact on greenery, such as the loss of habitat and biodiversity, with questions on whether more housing was required at the two sites and suggestions to explore other brownfield sites.

For Gillman Barracks, many respondents also highlighted its heritage, cultural and community value.

The revised plan will continue to retain the same 25 buildings initially identified for retention.

New nature parks

The proposed retained area at Maju Forest will be safeguarded as a new nature park, according to the media release.

The larger contiguous retained green area will also provide a wider pathway for wildlife movement, including the Straw-headed Bulbul and Sunda Pangolin.

In the case of Gillman Barracks, the larger green area will provide a wider buffer around the existing forest and enhance ecological connections to the Southern Ridges, Berlayar Creek and Labrador Nature Reserve.

The green areas in Gillman Barracks will be incorporated into the upcoming Alexandra Nature Park, expanding the green areas within the Labrador Nature Park Network.

The media release added that NParks will also enhance the Round Island Route along Alexandra Road to improve north-south connectivity between the rail corridor and the Labrador Nature Park Network.

They will also enhance Nature Ways along Alexandra Road, Telok Blangah Road and set up a new nature way along Telok Blangah Street 31 to intensify greenery along the edges of the Gillman Barracks site.

Next steps

An Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan will be enacted prior to the start of development work at both sites' vegetated areas.

Environmental mitigation and monitoring measures will also continue as developments are implemented.

For future housing projects, HDB said in the media release that climate-friendly designs and extensive precinct greenery will be implemented.

Moving forward, Tan said the government will engage the public "as early as possible" in the planning process, noting that Maju Forest had already been zoned for residential use since 1980.

More details on the feedback and how they were considered in plan reviews will be set out in Feedback Summary Reports on HDB InfoWEB alongside the revised environmental study reports for both sites.

Previous developments

The Housing and Development Board (HDB) announced plans to develop new homes at Gillman Barracks and Sunset Way (Maju Forest) on Jul. 10.

In parliament on Aug. 4, Tan said that plans for Gillman Barracks and Sunset Way "have not been finalised" and the government would proceed to redevelop both areas.

On Aug. 16, over 2,000 people turned up for the Maju Rally, an event organised by SG Climate Rally to protest the housing plans.

French footballer Kylian Mbappé has lost several brand partnerships in China following backlash over a circulating video in which he appears to discuss a meme depicting him as the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong.

Mbappe has since apologised. Mbappe's club, Real Madrid, and La Liga have also apologised for the incident.

On Oct. 27, three of his brand partners in China, beverage maker Dongpeng, dairy giant Mengniu and cheese producer Milkground, announced they were ending their partnerships with him.

China’s state broadcaster CCTV has also reportedly stopped airing La Liga matches and matches involving the Real Madrid forward, and removed adverts featuring him, The Paper reported.

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Discussed memes in backstage interview

The viral clip circulating online appears to show Mbappé being interviewed backstage for French online talk show The Bridge.

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When asked which meme featuring his face had made him laugh the most, he referred to a video of someone he described as “a Chinese dictator”.

The edit then showed a meme depicting his face superimposed onto Mao’s body. Mbappé did not specifically name Mao in his response.

He added that he often uses the meme with friends while playing PlayStation online.

The footage appears to be connected to his earlier appearance on The Bridge, alongside footballer Achraf Hakimi and comedian Malik Bentalha. That episode was released on YouTube on Apr. 2 this year.

Promotional footage for that episode shows Mbappé wearing the same outfit as in the backstage clip. However, the exact filming date of the short interview has not been established.

The Bridge has since removed the clip from its social media accounts, according to Spanish news outlet elDiario.es.

Brand partners announce end of cooperation

The clip’s recent virality has sparked backlash in China, with some netizens calling for a boycott of Mbappé and urging brands to cut ties with him.

In its Oct. 27 statement, Dongpeng said it firmly opposed behaviour that hurt national sentiments and maintained a zero-tolerance stance towards such conduct. It announced the immediate termination of all cooperation with Mbappé.

Mengniu and Milkground similarly announced that they were ending all cooperation with him, saying they would not tolerate words or actions that hurt the feelings of Chinese people.

The companies did not explicitly identify what prompted their decisions, although the announcements followed the clip’s circulation online.

CCTV halts broadcasts

Citing sources at China Media Group, The Paper reported that CCTV had stopped broadcasting La Liga matches and matches involving Mbappé from the previous evening.

All adverts involving the footballer had also been removed.

Mao remains a revered figure for many in China

Mao, who founded the People’s Republic of China in 1949, remains revered by many as the nation’s saviour, and jokes about him are considered taboo, Reuters reported. 

Although the Communist Party has acknowledged serious errors under his leadership, including his responsibility for the Cultural Revolution, it continues to honour his legacy and maintains that his achievements outweigh his mistakes.

Mbappé apologises for remarks

In a statement posted on X on Oct. 27, Mbappé apologised for his “ill-judged” comment.

The statement, issued in French, Chinese and English, acknowledged that his words had hurt people in China and Chinese communities around the world.

“I apologise to everyone my words have upset. This was absolutely not my intention,” he said. “I have deep respect for the Chinese people and their history, and I am sincerely sorry.”

A woman locked herself in a Bukit Panjang flat on Oct. 27, which led to a five-hour standoff with the authorities.

The police confirmed with Mothership that they received a call for assistance at about 5:30pm at Block 270 Bangkit Road on Tuesday.

Upon their arrival, a 31-year-old woman was found to have locked herself in her residential unit and might pose a danger to herself, the police said.

Officers from the Crisis Negotiation Unit and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) responded to the incident.

Five hours standoff

Videos posted online of the incident showed officers on the ground, with life air packs deployed at the foot of the block.

The SCDF confirmed with Mothership that they received a call for assistance at 7:30pm and deployed three safety life air packs.

Rescuers from the Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART) were on standby as a precaution.

At about 10:20pm, the woman opened her door, and police officers were able to gain entry into the unit.

She was subsequently arrested for criminal intimidation, using criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging his duty, and using offensive language against a public servant.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced in an Oct. 28 media statement that it expects banks to identify, assess, manage and monitor material environmental risks arising from their activities and exposures, including risks associated with pollution and deforestation.

In doing so, banks are also expected to take into consideration relevant information released by the National Environment Agency (NEA) under the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act (THPA).

Clear stance

MAS said that where customers may be linked to activities contributing to haze, banks should engage them and obtain sufficient information to understand their role and involvement, including whether adequate measures are in place to prevent, detect and stop fires.

Where heightened environmental risks are identified, banks should take appropriate measures to mitigate the risks, it added.

These may include imposing conditions, reviewing financing terms, limiting further exposures or reassessing the customer relationship.

Clear breaches of environmental laws would warrant stronger measures, including limiting exposures or exiting the relationship.

The statement added that MAS supports the local banks' clear stance against burning practices and notes that they will take strong action where warranted.

Expectations

MAS' expectations are set out in the Guidelines on Environmental Risk Management issued in 2020, and further elaborated in the Guidelines on Transition Planning issued in March 2026.

In light of the current situation, MAS has reinforced these supervisory expectations with banks, according to the statement.

Senior leaders of companies

An earlier report mentioned that the 10 Singapore-based companies that have been served legal notices by the National Environment Agency (NEA) over haze links have all acknowledged their receipt.

On Oct. 28, the following ministers met with senior leaders of the 10 Singapore-based companies served legal notices over the transboundary haze:

• Senior Minister, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam,
• Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy, Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong, and;
• Minister for Sustainability and the Environment and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations Grace Fu.

During the meeting, SM Shanmugam outlined what the government expects of the companies and how they will be assessed under the notices.

"I have asked to meet you personally because the haze situation is serious. We want to be clear about the government's position. And what we expect from each of you."

Fu also shared that the government also intends to table amendments to the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act (THPA) in Parliament in November.

The 10 firms involved are:

• ⁠Asia Pulp & Paper Company Limited
• Asia Pulp & Paper Company (China) Limited
• Bumitama Agri Ltd
• Golden Agri International Pte Ltd
• First Resources Ltd
• Indofood Agri Resources Ltd
• Kencana Agri Ltd
• TSH Global Plantation Pte Ltd
• TSH Oversea Pte Ltd
• Wilmar International Ltd

All were represented at the meeting, with eight representatives present, as Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) and TSH Global Plantation and TSH Oversea each shared representatives across their entities.

Joint task force

In addition, Singapore and Indonesia will set up a joint task force to hold companies accountable for forest fires.

The initiative was announced by Indonesian Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir following talks with Singapore foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan on Oct 27 at a joint press conference.

In announcing the proposed task force, Arrmanatha said that "smoke can cross borders, so can money", which is why he said it was important to follow the money trail these companies leave behind.

Arrmanatha said the they discussed establishing a joint task force on "strengthening business responsibility".

He said the proposed task force would facilitate information sharing, financial intelligence and cross-border evidence gathering with, and when possible, asset recovery.

Transboundary Haze Pollution Act (THPA)

Separately, Environment Minister Grace Fu said at the Sustainable Procurement Forum on Oct. 27 that the government is reviewing the effectiveness of the THPA, and will amend it or introduce new laws where necessary.

This would address enforcement gaps, strengthen corporate accountability, and improve Singapore's ability to investigate and take action against those responsible for transboundary haze, she added.

Fu also noted that Singapore is also prepared to use a wider range of legal, regulatory and economic measures.

Where those responsible for the haze have interests in Singapore, scrutiny can come from regulators, investors, financiers and the market, she said.

This has already prompted companies to respond publicly and set out their positions.

She added that companies are accountable not only to regulators, as investors, customers and the public increasingly expect responsible environmental practices.

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