A Malaysian mother's final conversation with her eldest daughter lasted just 17 seconds.

The 19-year-old teen and her younger sister, 14, died in a house fire in Kampung Koh, Sitiawan, Perak, on Oct. 16.

The victims were identified as Kiong Lee Yi, 19, and Kiong Bao Yi, 14, according to Malaysian news outlet Sinar Harian.

Their parents had gone out for breakfast that morning and returned shortly before 9am to find their house engulfed in flames.

Final phone call lasted 17 seconds

According to Oriental Daily, the sisters' mother, Lim Siew Lee, received a call from her eldest daughter while both girls were trapped inside the house.

Lee Yi told her mother that the house was on fire.

Lim urged her to escape with her younger sister, but the call ended after just 17 seconds.

She said she was unsure whether her daughter had heard her instructions before the line went silent.

"The last time I heard my daughter’s voice was only 17 seconds. I will never hear her voice again."

Lim subsequently tried calling her daughter several times but couldn't get through.

Family tried to enter burning house

Speaking to Sinar Harian, the sisters' 50-year-old father, identified as Kiong, said he and his wife tried to enter their home after discovering the fire.

However, the intense heat and flames prevented them from getting inside.

According to Oriental Daily, Kiong also attempted to force open a wooden door at the back of the house.

He said the wooden door at the back of the house could normally be opened by pushing against it, but he was unable to open it that day.

The girls' uncle, who also lived at the property, rushed home from work after learning about the fire.

He also tried to enter the house to rescue his nieces but was unsuccessful, suffering burns to several parts of his body in the process.

Fire brought under control at 10:30am

According to Bernama, the Perak Fire and Rescue Department received an emergency call at 9:01am.

Firefighters from Sitiawan and Seri Manjung, alongside the Pantai Remis Volunteer Fire Brigade, arrived at the scene at 9:10am.

Perak Fire and Rescue Department director Sayani Saidon said the fire affected two adjoining double-storey houses, which were almost 90 per cent destroyed.

The blaze also destroyed three cars and a motorcycle. It is currently unknown as to how the fire started.

Firefighters brought the fire under control at around 10:30am.

The sisters were found in different parts of the house, with one on the upper floor and the other downstairs, Sinar Harian reported.

A 19-year-old male is assisting with investigations after officers at Pasir Panjang Scanning Station intercepted an inbound cargo container filled with an assortment of controlled weapons and ammunition.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) posted a video on its Facebook page on Oct. 21, showing the foiled attempt.

The container was referred for further checks based on information from ICA’s Integrated Targeting Centre (ITC).

An image analyst noticed anomalies in the scanned images and sent the container for enhanced checks.

A total of six packets and a bottle of BB pellets, 40 packets of 72 caps and five units of replica guns were uncovered.

Investigations

After the case was referred to the Singapore Police Force (SPF), the 19-year-old is assisting with investigations for an offence under the Guns, Explosives and Weapons Control Act 2021, ICA said.

ICA said they remain committed to facilitating trade and travel while keeping Singapore’s borders safe and secure.

A resale five-room flat at City View @ Boon Keng sold for S$1.64 million in October 2026.

The transaction set a record resale price for a flat of this type in the Kallang/Whampoa area.

The 1,259 sq ft unit at Block 9 Boon Keng Road is between the 34th and 36th floors, according to the Housing and Development Board (HDB) website for checking resale flat prices.

It is part of a Design, Build, Sell Scheme (DBSS) project.

DBSS projects are built by private developers.

The S$1,302 psf price is the highest recorded for any five-room resale flat in the area.

Previous record resale price

The previous record resale price in the area involved a 1,249 sq ft premium apartment unit at Block 8A Upper Boon Keng Road.

The Kallang Trivista estate flat sold for S$1.588 million (S$1,273 psf) in September 2026.

83 years left on lease

City View @ Boon Keng entered the resale market in 2016.

It was built in 2011.

There is about 83 years left on its lease.

There are 714 units in three 40-storey residential blocks at City View @ Boon Keng.

They comprise a mix of three- to five-room flats, which range from 731 sq ft to 1,280 sq ft.

Block 9 contains 238 units: 158 five-room units, alongside 56 four-room flats, and 24 three-room flats.

The last record resale price for a flat at City View @ Boon Keng was S$1.54 million set in September 2025.

The area is about a 10-minute drive away from Orchard Road.

HDB flats with very high resale prices 'a minority'

In an April 2026 parliamentary reply, the Ministry of National Development (MND) said about 6 per cent of resale flats transacted above S$1 million in 2025.

Based on the flash estimate for the first quarter of 2026, resale prices declined slightly by 0.1 per cent.

MND added that the resale market continues to provide a wide range of flats at different price points, catering to different budgets and needs.

In 2025, there were four-room resale flats with leases of 70 years or longer in Tampines and Punggol going for around S$650,000 to S$700,000.

In Sembawang and Yishun, such flats were available below S$600,000, MND added, while in Jurong West and Woodlands, there were options below S$550,000.

Eligible first-time resale buyers can get housing grants of up to S$230,000, further reducing the amounts they need to pay, MND said.

Previously, at a media briefing on Aug. 20, 2024, then-National Development Minister Desmond Lee shared that HDB flats with very high resale prices make up "a very small proportion of all transactions", even though record HDB resale prices have frequently made headlines.

Lee added at the time that such transactions made up only 0.5 per cent of all four-room or smaller flats transacted in the last two years, are very central, and are well served by transport connectivity and comprehensive amenities.

Lee noted that more than half of them are also located on very high floors, above 30 storeys, and have good views.

However, they have caused Singaporeans to be concerned about "the affordability of resale flats as a whole":

"Flat sellers who are reading such news raise their expectations about how much the flat could bring, while flat buyers become anxious to secure flats before prices get higher.

If we are not careful, such market dynamics can cause the resale market to run out of line with economic fundamentals and cause a bubble."

Lee also noted then that flats that cross the million-dollar mark made up about 2 per cent of all resale transactions over the last 1.5 years at the time.

A 23-year-old influencer allegedly involved in prostitution and drugs was arrested after her mother-in-law reported her to the police.

The mother-in-law had been worried for her three grandchildren as their mother would allegedly consume drugs in front of them.

She held a press conference on Oct. 18 to expose her, hoping that her grandchildren’s future would not be affected by their parents’ behaviour.

Pregnant

The influencer became pregnant with her first child in 2020, when she was 17. She married her husband and had two more children.

She has three sons aged six, five, and two, according to Sin Chew.

Her mother-in-law, Huang Ling Wei, alleged that sometime in 2024, the influencer had hidden drugs in a candy box, which her son found and consumed.

The boy suffered from seizures and foamed at the mouth.

His parents took him to the hospital, but refused to disclose what he had ingested until the blood report came in two hours later.

The hospital found drugs in the child’s system after the blood test.

He spent four days in intensive care and eventually recovered from the incident after two to three weeks of hospitalisation, Oriental Daily reported.

In another incident, the influencer was filmed using an e-vaporiser in the presence of their children.

They suffered from breathing difficulties, insomnia, and headaches as a result of breathing in secondhand toxic fumes.

Huang said that the Social Welfare Department subsequently intervened and issued an injunction prohibiting the influencer from having unsupervised contact with her children.

Huang’s son was also arrested and jailed for drug and child abuse.

Huang and her eldest daughter subsequently took custody of the children.

Drugs and explicit photos

Huang suspected that the influencer had taken to various platforms to sell drugs, prostitution services, and explicit photos.

Huang said the school later learned through other channels that her daughter-in-law had publicly admitted on social media to taking drugs and engaging in prostitution, and contacted her about it.

Between June and August 2026, Huang said that her family was harassed and locked in their house on three separate occasions, trapping her family inside.

She suspects these incidents to be related to the influencer’s debts and drug-related disputes, Oriental Daily reported.

In September, the influencer forced her way into the house and took a photo with one of her sons, using it to build up an image as a good mother, Huang claimed.

Gathers evidence for police reports

Huang said that she had attempted to report her daughter-in-law to the police multiple times, but had not been arrested, citing insufficient evidence.

She subsequently resorted to secretly purchasing the influencer’s drugs and explicit content and made another report against the influencer.

Following investigations, the police arrested the influencer at a residence in Maluri, Kepong.

On Oct. 18, Huang held a press conference and exposed her daughter-in-law’s actions, hoping to protect her grandchildren.

Calls for the end of crow culling practices in Singapore were made after officers from the National Parks Board (NParks) were seen shooting the birds outside Aljunied MRT Station.

The jarring scene appeared to garner the attention of members of the public within the station, according to a clip of the incident circulating on social media.

Two officers were seen standing next to a green fence on the grass, one holding a gun pointed at the sky, while several dead crows lay scattered around.

Netizens took to the video's comments section to express their views on the matter, with many calling out the "inhumane way" of culling.

An ongoing online petition to end urban bird culling has also since regained traction.

It argued that repeated attempts to bird cull in Singapore "may not adequately address underlying root causes".

Common methods used to cull birds like pigeons, such as using chemical baits, may also lead to detrimental effects on the larger ecosystem, the petition wrote.

As of Oct. 21, it has garnered 2,573 signatures.

Crow shooting resumed in March

In response to a Mothership query, NParks' Group Director of Wildlife Management How Choon Beng said that as of October 2026, crow shooting operations have expanded to over 20 districts across the island from the initial nine.

Culling resumed on Mar. 24, and over 2,500 crows have been shot since.

The operations are expected to be rolled out to more sites after studies are conducted.

How also emphasised that house crows are an invasive non-native species to Singapore and pose a threat to the nation's native biodiversity.

"They can cause various disamenities such as noise, soiling, and hygiene issues, and are also particularly protective of their young and may attack residents when they sense that their young are threatened."

Safety measures taken

Addressing the shooting operation outside Aljunied MRT station, How said it had been actively managing the crow population in the area through a range of measures prior to the shooting.

These have included more frequent crow nest surveys and removed and crow trapping, which saw the removal of more than 70 crow nests and trapping of more than 100 crows between January 2025 and April 2026.

However, as the highly adaptable birds can become trap-shy, crow shooting was introduced as an additional measure.

"The operation was carried out in accordance with strict safety protocols, including cordoning off the shooting zone and putting up signage at access points to warn the public not to approach," How confirmed.

He added that safety personnel were also deployed for public safety and to maintain control throughout the operation.

Some residents support shooting

According to Lianhe Zaobao, some residents supported the shooting.

A waiter at a nearby restaurant said that before shooting operations began, hundreds of crows would nest in the open space every evening, making loud cawing sounds, though they did not impact the restaurant's business.

Another resident reported being attacked by crows two years ago on his way home.

"The crows have been 'kings of the trees' for a long time, which is very annoying," he said.

A third interviewee said that residents have grown used to seeing the crows and avoid the space where possible.

While she acknowledged others' opinions that shooting may be cruel, she pointed out that the method had worked much more effectively than other prior measures.

We are now in the fourth quarter of the year – in other words, travel season.

Visiting new locations can be fun, but one pain point about travelling is the need to exchange money at the right time, to catch the best rates.

So if Malaysia, Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Vietnam or Thailand are on your list of travel destinations, here’s some good news.

Local remittance and money exchange company Transend has rolled out automated money exchange machines across MRT stations in Singapore, so you can now skip the queues ahead of your trip.

Think of an ATM machine, but for foreign currencies.

In light of my upcoming trip to Thailand, I decided to test out one of the machines located at Bedok MRT station to withdraw some Thai Baht. Here’s how it works:

First, I entered my desired baht sum to check out the exchange rate, which was S$1 to 25.71 baht; a rate comparable to those of the money changers found on CashChanger.

After inputting the amount for a thousand baht, a QR code was generated to be scanned with my PayNow app.

Voila.

The entire process took less than two minutes — it’s certified convenient.

Five MRT stations, seven currencies

Currently, the machines have been deployed at four stations: Bedok MRT station, Serangoon MRT station, Punggol MRT station and Woodlands North station,  home to the Singapore terminal of the upcoming Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link.

From end November onwards, you will also be able to find a kiosk at Harbourfront MRT — the closest stop to catch your ferry into Batam, Indonesia.

As they are located within MRT stations, each kiosk operates in line with Singapore’s public transport hours, typically from 5:30am to 12am.

Up to seven currencies from favourite travel hotspots can be bought at the kiosks:

• Malaysian Ringgit,
• New Taiwan Dollar,
• South Korean Won,
• Indonesian Rupiah,
• Japanese Yen,
• Vietnamese Dong and
• Thai Baht.

To make things even more convenient, payment at the machine can be made via PayNow or cash.

Making travel convenient again, one machine at a time.

This branded article by Transend made this writer want to plan for that next getaway to JB.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) has released N95 masks from the national stockpile to support retailers in managing demand amidst the ongoing haze episode, it said in response to media queries on Oct. 20.

Sufficient supplies

MOH said that it is aware that there has been increased demand for the masks and that some members of the public are concerned about the availability of such masks.

According to MOH, checks showed that retailers and retail pharmacies have sufficient supplies in their warehouses.

However, some stores may temporarily run low on supplies while they restock their stores, MOH said.

MOH assured the public that it maintains a stockpile of N95 or equivalent masks, and said it has released the stockpile to support retailers in managing demand.

More masks at retail outlets by end of week

The public can purchase N95 masks (or equivalent) from all NTUC FairPrice outlets, as well as pharmacies such as Guardian, Unity and Watsons, MOH advised.

Other masks equivalent to N95 are KN95, FFP2 and KF94.

MOH also said it is working with Cold Storage, Giant and Sheng Siong for N95 or equivalent masks to be made available for purchase progressively at all their outlets by the end of the week.

"We urge individuals to purchase N95 masks (or equivalent) in quantities that are sufficient only for their own consumption, in order to avoid wastage," MOH said.

More information can be found on MOH's website or its social media pages.

Buy only what you need: Grace Fu

In an Oct. 20 Facebook post, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu similarly assured the public that Singapore's N95 or equivalent mask supplies are sufficient to meet demand.

The post showed Fu visiting Fairprice's warehouse, where stocks of the appropriate masks could be seen.

Fu also encouraged the public to buy only what they need.

"Masks can be reused as long as they are not soiled or dirty, damp, damaged or out of shape," Fu said.

According to MOH's advisory, vulnerable persons are advised to wear a mask outdoors if the 1-hour PM2.5 reading is at or above 151, or Band 3 (High).

For healthy persons, mask-wearing outdoors is advised if the 1-hour PM2.5 reading is at or above 251, or Band 4 (Very High).

A woman, 26, died on Oct. 15 after falling from a multi-storey carpark in Yishun.

According to a video on Facebook, the woman was seen standing on the ledge of the carpark while emergency responders called out to her from above.

She climbed down and hung off the ledge, with her feet suspended in the air. An inflatable safety life air pack was deployed below her.

In response to Mothership's enquiries, the police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) confirmed that they received a call for assistance at 1:35pm that day.

The SCDF stated that they deployed a safety life air pack, but the woman unfortunately fell to the ground.

They subsequently conveyed her to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital where she passed away.

The police stated that they do not suspect foul play, and that investigations are ongoing.

Some users on Facebook speculated that she was a domestic worker, with a few claiming that she ran away from her employer's home.

The information is still unverified.

Helplines

If you or someone you know are in mental distress, here are some hotlines you can call to seek help, advice, or just a listening ear:

• National mindline.sg Hotline: 1771 (24 hours)
• National mindline.sg WhatsApp: 66691771 (24 hours)
• SOS 24-hour Hotline: 1-767
• Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019
• Centre for Domestic Employees: 1800 225 5233 (24 hours)
• Foreign Domestic Worker Association for Social Support and Training: 1800 339 4357 (24 hours)
• HOME (migrant worker): +65 6341 5535  (WhatsApp / Viber / SMS)
• HOME (domestic worker): +65 9787 3122 (WhatsApp / SMS / Call)
• SHECARES@SCWO: Call: 8001 01 4616 | WhatsApp: 8985 5528 (For targets of online harms)
• National Anti-Violence and Sexual Harassment Helpline (NAVH): 1800-777-0000

A Singaporean couple has been sentenced to jail on Oct. 21, 2026, for causing the death of their eight-month-old baby.

Chloe Gan Ci Xuan, 23, was sentenced to 15 years and 3 months in jail, while Neo Jia Ming, 27, was sentenced to 16 years in jail.

The couple smothered and shook their son, Trevor Neo, to stop him from crying for almost the entirety of his life.

This eventually led to baby Trevor's death on Sep. 2, 2024, after Gan suffocated him again using her hands and flipped him in his cot.

Neo did not do anything to stop this ill-treatment.

The couple previously pleaded guilty on Oct. 12 to various charges linked to the death of their son.

Gan was seen crying in court on Oct. 21 as the judge read out the sentences.

Judgment

The case was presided over by High Court Justice Hoo Sheau Peng.

The judge also presided over the case of four-year-old Megan Khung, who died at the hands of her mother, Foo Li Ping and Foo's boyfriend.

Calling the case tragic, Hoo compared Gan’s actions to Foo's.

Trevor spent nearly the entirety of his life enduring abuse before losing his life, Hoo noted.

Hoo said the couple was overwhelmed by the task of taking care of the baby and was not overly prepared for parenthood.

However, the judge noted that the couple seemed well supported by family members, adding that Gan moved back with her parents during her confinement period.

They also engaged a nanny to take care of Trevor on weekdays and relatives helped on weekends.

Neo’s two uncles living in the same flat also took care of Trevor on one occasion while the couple went out for dinner.

The couple was not left on their own, Hoo said.

Notwithstanding their "youth and inexperience", they must be held accountable for their actions, the judge said.

She also explained that while Neo did not cause baby Trevor's eventual death, he was the first to begin shaking him to lose consciousness, and Gan followed suit.

What couple did

The couple got married in August 2023 and Gan gave birth to Trevor on Dec. 9, 2023.

Soon after, Gan realised she could make Trevor stop crying or lose consciousness by shaking him vigorously after seeing Neo do so.

The couple took to shaking him frequently to stop him from crying.

At one point, Trevor had to be hospitalised for a week after he lost consciousness from the shaking.

Day of fatal abuse

On Sep. 1, 2024, the couple left the baby in Neo's uncles' care while they went for dinner.

The couple came back around 8pm and left Trevor in his cot while they used their phones in the room.

At one point, Trevor started to cry, and Gan went over to his cot frustrated as she could not sleep.

She started to press a blanket over his face for close to a minute until Trevor twitched and slowed down.

However, he started to cry again when she lifted her hands.

Gan then continued pressing the blanket over the baby's face and repeated the action about three to four times until she felt her arm trembling.

As she did so, Neo asked her, "How? You want the baby to die? If anything happens, we will go to jail."

Gan replied: "Wait for the baby to make noise first, then you try again."

Pounded on the baby with hand

A minute later, the baby started to cry again, and Gan went over to the cot.

She then covered his face with both hands and pressed down hard, repeatedly pounding one hand over the other.

The prosecutor said Gan did so until she felt her hands losing strength.

At 11:30pm, Neo finished playing his mobile phone game and went to check on the baby.

He realised that Trevor was not breathing and his hands were cold, and woke Gan up to check on him.

Gan went over to Trevor and found him with purple lips and one eye open.

She started to pat him on the back, and the couple later attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the baby but to no avail.

They called a taxi to go to the hospital as Neo did not want to incur the costs of calling an ambulance.

On the way to the hospital, Neo told Gan to keep quiet and "not say anything".

If the police did not get involved, they could continue living their lives and not worry about money anymore, Neo said.

Trevor was later pronounced dead at about 12:20am on Sep. 2, 2024, at KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH).

A nurse lodged a police report saying the baby died under suspicious circumstances.

The couple was arrested that same morning.

Gan is represented by lawyers Josephus Tan and Cory Wong from Invictus Law, while Neo is represented by Johannes Hadi and Seraphine Loh Tian Hui from Eugene Thuraisingam Asia LLC.

A 25-year-old Malaysian man is believed to have been trapped in a scam centre in Myanmar for six months after accepting a "well-paying" job offer overseas.

The man, known only as Cheng, was allegedly forced to work long hours and subjected to physical abuse.

His family was also allegedly asked to pay US$40,000 (S$52,000) to secure his release, according to The Star.

Offered "well-paying" customer service job

Cheng, who previously worked in Singapore, met a man while attending a car show in Penang, Malaysia.

The pair bonded over their shared interest in cars, according to Oriental Daily.

The man subsequently offered Cheng a desk-bound customer service job overseas, promising him a good salary.

Having experience working in the service sector in Singapore and hoping to find a stable job, Cheng accepted the offer.

Allegedly forced to pay S$52,000 to leave job

However, Cheng realised the offer was far from the truth when he arrived in Myanmar to sign the employment contract.

According to Daniel Khoo, chairman of the Malaysian Community Crime Care Centre's Pahang branch, one of the terms in the contract was to pay US$40,000 (S$52,000) if Cheng wanted to quit the job early.

Unable to afford the penalty, Cheng was allegedly forced to remain at the centre, where he was subjected to long working hours and physical abuse, The Star reported.

He is believed to be confined at a scam centre located in a jungle area near the Thai-Myanmar border since April this year.

His personal phone was also allegedly confiscated, preventing him from contacting his family.

Managed to contact family in July

According to Oriental Daily, Cheng used a phone at his workplace in July to contact a friend for help.

He subsequently reached his family through Instagram.

His family reportedly received a video which shows people using multiple mobile phones and men being beaten.

Khoo described the footage as "graphic".

Family lodged police report

Cheng's older brother lodged a police report in Johor Bahru on Jul. 31 after the family received messages about Cheng.

According to Oriental Daily, the family last contacted Cheng through WeChat on Jul. 18.

They also learnt that he had left Malaysia on Apr. 17.

A Malaysian police official confirmed with The Star that a report had been lodged and investigations were ongoing.

A female relative said the family had reached out to the Malaysian embassy for assistance but remained uncertain about Cheng's whereabouts and condition.