A married couple from Malaysia tried to smuggle about RM3 million (S$918,000) into Singapore via the Causeway, but their attempt was foiled owing to the male driver's suspicious behaviour.

The incident occurred at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI), the checkpoint in Johor Bahru, on Oct. 27, New Straits Times reported.

The suspects, identified as entrepreneurs aged 41 and 42, were detained by the Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (MCBA).

Driver suspicious

Officers stopped the vehicle for inspection after its driver aroused suspicion, it was reported.

The driver was ordered to open the luggage compartment and passenger seating area.

The cash was found during checks on the Toyota Alphard at the BSI Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex by three officers.

The couple told officers they were travelling to Singapore for a holiday.

Officers found RM1,971,697 (S$617,999) and S$300,000 (RM955,441) in the vehicle stashed in three boxes, a paper bag, and a black backpack.

The couple, cash, and vehicle were handed over to the Customs Department and an investigation is underway.

Cash exceeding US$10,000 (RM40,826 or S$12,820) must be declared when taken out of or brought into Malaysia.

Singaporean Riona Krishnan Dighe was crowned Miss Teen Universe Asia 2026 at the global finals in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Oct. 25.

She was also named Miss Popular Choice, an award chosen through online public voting.

This placed her as the audience favourite among more than 30 delegates, a press release stated.

“This is honestly one of the most unforgettable moments of my life,” said Riona.

“Being named Miss Teen Universe Asia is a dream come true, and winning Miss Popular Choice makes it even more special because it means so much to know that people took the time to vote for me and cheer me on."

She expressed her gratitude to those who supported her back home, saying she is grateful to be "living her dream" and hopes that she has made Singapore proud.

Riona’s platform focused on children’s education and access, built on the charity work she has done since she was 11.

Representing Singapore

The teen represented Singapore for the regional title after winning Miss Teen Universe Singapore 2026.

For her talent segment, she performed a traditional Peranakan dance and introduced Singapore’s heritage to an international audience.

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More than a pageant queen

Riona was previously Miss Teen London 2024 and first runner-up at Miss Teen Universe UK 2024.

Outside of pageants, she is an international model who has walked the New York, London, Milan and Paris Fashion Weeks.

She also partnered with local brand Origin Teahouse to launch a limited edition drink to raise funds for Project Pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Riona's other educational achievements include her research on applying natural language processing to Bhutan's Gross National Happiness framework.

Her research was subsequently published in the International Journal of High School Research.

She completed her A-levels at Cheltenham Ladies' College in the UK and is currently reading Business at University College London’s Global Business School of Health.

A man believes his WhatsApp account was recently hacked after his friend received mysterious messages from him, asking her to help him transfer S$1,300 to a bank account.

The friend was willing and ready to help, until she discovered that the phone number linked to the bank account was registered in South Africa.

A big favour

According to screenshots of the chat that Faiz's friend later shared with him, the first message was sent to her at 9:57pm on Oct. 27.

It was sent from Faiz's number, asking if she could help him with "one big favour".

She replied "yes" a few minutes later.

"Faiz" explained that he needed to send S$1,300 to a "friend" but he had hit the daily transfer limit on his own bank account.

He asked if she could help to make the transfer on his behalf, and he would pay her back the next day.

Although the friend felt that it was a big favour, she agreed.

At this point, "Faiz" said that the person she needed to transfer money to was a "seller".

When she wanted to know what item he was buying from this supposed seller, he said they were a furniture seller.

A South African-registered number

The person using Faiz's WhatsApp account then sent her a QR code to make the bank transfer.

Speaking to Mothership, the real Faiz said that a phone number showed up when his friend scanned the QR code.

When she checked the number on WhatsApp, the app told her it was a South Africa-registered number, and this made her suspicious.

The friend, who works with Faiz, held back because she knows he doesn't have any business in South Africa, Faiz told Mothership.

She took a screenshot and sent it to "Faiz", but the person insisted that it was the correct number.

He told her to "relax" and that "everything [is] normal".

Wrote awkward Malay

Faiz's friend then started to message in Malay, suggesting that he wait until the next day so his transfer limit would be reset, since it was already close to midnight.

In English, the person claimed that he would lose his S$300 deposit after that day.

"Can you talk in Bahasa?" the friend asked, again in Malay. "I want to make sure your number isn't used by someone else."

"Faiz" responded by sending her a number that appeared to be a Singapore one, followed by a DuitNow QR code to an account named "LMVH Singapore".

"Please make payment here, dear. I really need your help," he said, finally writing in Malay, but using awkward grammar.

This was the last message before Faiz's friend messaged him on Instagram. She sent him the screenshots of the WhatsApp chat and asked if he had indeed sent the messages.

Faiz called her immediately to tell her it wasn't him.

When he checked his own WhatsApp, there was no record of the messages his friend had apparently received.

'Scary'

A self-professed tech savvy person, Faiz found it "scary" to think that someone had hacked and impersonated him on WhatsApp.

Hoping to warn others to be more careful, he posted about the incident, along with the chat screenshots from his friend, on Instagram.

In his caption, he wrote that the scammer could imitate the way he typed and kept the previous chat history with his friend on screen to trick his friend into thinking it was indeed him.

But there were a few things that made the conversation suspicious.

Faiz rarely talked to this friend on WhatsApp, as they were colleagues and would typically use Microsoft Teams.

The last time he messaged her on WhatsApp was Sep. 29, he said.

The scammer also appeared not to know Malay well and likely used a translation tool, he believed.

He reported the incident to the ScamShield Helpline at 1799, the staff on the phone advised him to log out of WhatsApp and then log back in again, explaining that WhatsApp can only be active on one phone at a time.

They also suggested that he set up two-factor authentication (2FA) on the app for extra security.

On Oct. 28, Senior Minister K Shanmugam met with senior leaders of the 10 Singapore-based companies served legal notices by the National Environment Agency (NEA) under the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act (THPA).

He's speaking as the Chairman of the Homefront Crisis Ministerial Committee.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy, Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong, as well as Minister for Sustainability and the Environment and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations Grace Fu were both present at the meeting.

All 10 firms were represented at the meeting.

Below is the full text of SM Shanmugam’s remarks to the representatives.

Introduction

Thank you for coming.

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.

The intention of this exercise is not to find scapegoats.

Nor is it to fix blame for public or political reasons.

You know the Singapore Government.

We will do what is right.

From our perspective, we need to deal with issues that affect Singapore.

And we need to be sure that companies which are here conduct their operations in a manner that doesn’t affect Singapore or the region.

Haze has affected daily lives and well-being of Singaporeans.

Air quality reached very unhealthy levels in October.

Vulnerable groups like children, seniors, those with chronic heart or lung conditions, have faced greater health risks during this time.

Haze is caused by fires.

Fires are caused by irresponsible business practices.

It is not a natural phenomenon.

The Government takes this seriously, and we are determined to act.

And we are giving full attention to this issue.

We will pursue all available legal and regulatory avenues.

We will use all the powers we have to establish responsibility, where there is responsibility.

And we will hold those responsible to account.

And if the facts show that there is no wrongdoing – we will proceed on that basis as well.

Expectations

I want to emphasise to you.

You have a corporate presence and stake in Singapore.

And you have a responsibility to ensure that your operations and your supply chains do not contribute to the Haze.

Where there are concerns about a company’s involvement, whether directly or through its corporate relationships or supply chains, we will examine the facts carefully.

We cannot allow corporate structures or third-party arrangements to stand in our way of establishing the facts.

Steps taken

NEA has served Notices under Section 10 of the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act on your companies since last week.

These are formal Statutory Notices.

They are not routine requests for information.

I will say this plainly: non-compliance with Section 10 is an offence.

We expect your companies to respond fully, accurately, and promptly.

We expect substantive cooperation and transparency, not merely technical compliance or lawyered responses which don’t deal with the substance.

Your companies must make every effort to provide the information needed to establish the facts.

Assessment of Companies

We announced last week: The Government will set up a Panel of Assessors.

We would like to have expert assessment confirming that your company was or was not involved in any fires that caused or contributed to the Haze.

We have created a specialist Panel of Assessors. We will be announcing their appointments soon, within the next two days.

Davinder Singh Chambers LLC (DSC) will serve as the Government’s Advisor, in respect of these matters. DSC will, in addition, also oversee the coordination of the Panel’s work.

The process will work in this way.

One of your identified companies will have to engage a team comprising an Investigations Firm and a Law Firm, to advise the Investigations Firm.

These will be from the Panel, as directed by NEA.

The Investigations Firm will often need legal support from lawyers on their Report.

The work to be done for the Report by all the Firms on the Panel will be co-ordinated and directed by DSC.

To be clear, the Law Firms will advise the investigations firm, and not the companies.

The companies can of course get their own legal advice.

The Panel Team appointed to your company will be your company’s appointees.

Payment will be made to them by the companies.

NEA will provide the Assessors with relevant terms of reference, areas, issues, questions, that they would like the Assessors to look at.

Your company is expected to give the Assessors full access to information, documents, premises, people, etc, on your operations, corporate relationships and supply chains.

The Assessors may need to engage third parties or other experts to assist with the Assessment.

Some examples include remote sensing, and geospatial analysts to analyse satellite hotspot data.

The Assessors will submit a Report, containing their findings, to the NEA, through DSC.

NEA will take this Report into account when assessing further steps.

Many of you have expressed a commitment to cooperate fully with the Government.

We welcome that.

If your Company is not involved in any way in the fires, and your supply chains are clean, the Assessment should help to establish that fact and address our concerns.

If there have been lapses, these will have to be dealt with.

We will take into account the level of cooperation you have given.

Legislative Amendments

At the next Parliamentary sitting next week, the Government intends to table amendments to the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, to give legal force to the framework I have just outlined.

NEA will be empowered to issue a formal direction to any entity suspected of contributing or being connected to the fires.

NEA will be able to direct that the entities appoint Assessors.

A failure by an entity to comply with the direction would be an offence.

The legislation will provide that Assessors will have full access to documents and information, and access to sites, facilities, as they decide to be necessary.

The Assessors will be empowered to look into the entity’s operations, corporate relationships, and supply chains.

They will seek to establish whether the entity is in any way involved in causing or contributing to fires that have led to haze pollution in Singapore.

The Assessors will then issue a Report to NEA.

Failure to provide full co-operation will be an offence. I hope that NEA need not reach the stage of having to make a direction to you.

It is in all of our interests if you: can agree to submit to the process today, and proceed with the engagement of the Assessors soon.

Without having to have a formal Notice issued under law.

We will be announcing the names of CEOs and companies who voluntarily committed to going through the Assessor process.

The Government will update Singaporeans of the status of the exercise.

This is not going to be a one-off process. We intend for there to be regular evaluations and certifications by the Assessors.

Conclusion

I want to conclude by emphasising three points.

First, the Haze has caused real harm to Singapore and Singaporeans.

We cannot treat this as an unavoidable fact of life or business.

The health and well-being of Singaporeans must come first.

Second, the Government is determined.

We will pursue the facts and evidence for as long as it takes and strengthen our laws as needed.

It cannot be Business As Usual, even after the Haze is over.

Third, we expect full cooperation and compliance.

We hope that you will ensure your companies work constructively with our agencies.

We will take any questions now.

• Senior Minister, Chairman of the Homefront Crisis Ministerial Committee, 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;

met with senior leaders of the 10 Singapore-based companies served legal notices over the transboundary haze on Oct. 28.

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."

He also revealed 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 Overseas each shared representatives across their entities.

"Not routine requests for information"

SM Shanmugam said all companies have a corporate presence and stake in Singapore, as well as a responsibility to ensure that their operations and supply chains do not contribute to the haze.

The government takes this seriously and is determined to act, he stressed.

"We will pursue all available legal and regulatory avenues. We will use all the powers we have to establish responsibility, where there is responsibility.

And we will hold those responsible to account.

And if the facts show that there is no wrongdoing – we will proceed on that basis as well."

On Oct. 23, it was announced that the National Environment Agency (NEA) served legal notices under the THPA to the 10 firms.

Through the notices, it is seeking details on the companies' links to associated firms, their land concessions, fire prevention measures, and firefighting efforts by the firms or their associated companies on the ground.

"These are formal statutory notices," SM Shanmugam said. "They are not routine requests for information."

Representatives of firms that do not comply with the notices face a fine of up to S$5,000, up to one month's jail, or both.

"We expect your companies to respond fully, accurately, and promptly.

We expect substantive cooperation and transparency, not merely technical compliance, or lawyered responses which don’t deal with the substance.

Your companies must make every effort to provide the information needed to establish the facts."

Assessments

SM Shanmugam also outlined the assessment process during the meeting.

Each company is expected to engage a team of assessors from a Specialist Panel of law, audit and investigative firms with expertise in cross-border inquiries that the government will set up.

Each team comprises an investigations firm and a law firm that advises the investigations firm, not the company.

The teams will be assigned by NEA, which will set their terms of reference, areas, issues, and questions they would like the assessors to look at, and the companies will pay them.

Companies are expected to give assessors full access to information, documents, premises and people on their operations, corporate relationships and supply chains.

Assessors may engage third parties, such as remote sensing and geospatial analysts who analyse satellite hotspot data.

Assessors will then submit a report to NEA through law firm Davinder Singh Chambers (DSC LLC), the government's appointed adviser, which coordinates the panel's work.

This report will be considered by NEA when assessing further steps.

SM Shanmugam said the assessment should help clear companies that are not involved in the fires and have clean supply chains.

Any lapses will have to be dealt with, and the level of cooperation will be taken into account.

Amendments to the THPA

The amendments to the THPA will give legal force to this framework, SM Shanmugam said.

Under them, NEA will be able to direct any entity suspected of contributing or being connected to the fires to appoint assessors, and failure to comply will be an offence.

Assessors will also have full access to documents, information and sites, and can look into an entity's operations, corporate relationships and supply chains.

Failure to cooperate fully will also be an offence.

SM Shanmugam urged companies to agree to the process immediately and engage assessors soon, without waiting for a formal notice.

He added that they will be naming the CEOs and companies that voluntarily commit, and will update members of the public on it.

It will not be a one-off process, he added, as the government intends for there to be regular evaluations and certifications by assessors.

Government is "determined"

"The haze has caused real harm to Singapore and Singaporeans," SM Shanmugam said. "We cannot treat this as an unavoidable fact of life or business. The health and well-being of Singaporeans must come first."

He said the government will also pursue the facts for as long as it takes and strengthen laws as needed.

"It cannot be business as usual, even after the haze is over."

He added that they also expect full cooperation and compliance from the companies involved.

"The intention of this exercise is not to find scapegoats. Nor is it to fix blame for public or political reasons.

You know the Singapore government. We will do what is right.

From our perspective, we need to deal with issues that affect Singapore. And we need to be sure that companies which are here conduct their operations in a manner that doesn’t affect Singapore or the region."

Singapore foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan will meet Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on the afternoon of Oct. 28 during his visit to Jakarta.

This was confirmed by Indonesia's Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya in a statement, Antara reported.

Vivian arrived in Jakarta on Oct. 27, and met his Indonesian counterpart, Arrmanatha Nasir, for high-level bilateral talks that afternoon.

During talks between Vivian and Nasir, they agreed that Singapore and Indonesia would form a joint task force to tackle the forest fires behind the recent transboundary haze.

Its work includes holding companies accountable for the forest fires and facilitating information sharing, financial intelligence, and cross-border evidence gathering.

A 24-year-old Malaysian man was arrested for attempting to smuggle more than 2kg of drugs into Singapore on a motorcycle at Tuas Checkpoint on Oct. 21, 2026.

Checks conducted on motorcycle

Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers referred the Malaysia-registered motorcycle for enhanced checks and uncovered five bundles suspected to contain controlled drugs.

The items were in a tote bag hidden beneath a raincoat in the motorcycle's top box, the ICA news release said.

Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers were immediately alerted to the detection and conducted further checks on the man and the motorcycle.

A total of about 1,924g of heroin and 164g of "Ice" were seized.

The drugs have an estimated worth of more than S$222,000 and could potentially feed the addiction of about 1,010 abusers for a week.

Investigations are ongoing.

Those who import into or export from Singapore more than 15g of diamorphine or “pure heroin” may face the death penalty.

Dominic Neo, 52, founder of char kway teow stall Liang Ji Legendary Char Kway Teow, has appealed to reconnect with his two estranged children, saying he hopes they will one day visit his stall so he can cook for them.

Speaking to Mothership, Neo said recent health concerns had left him worried that he might not get another chance to see them.

The last time he interacted with his children was when his son, now 30, was seven years old and his daughter, now 25, was still a baby.

As of his response to Mothership, neither had responded to his latest appeal.

Neo's "last wish"

In his Facebook appeal, Neo shared an old photograph of his two children and said he misses them and wants their forgiveness.

He told Mothership the photograph is the only one he has of his children and he keeps it in his wallet.

"If one day I pass away, [this] photo will burn together with me," he said.

Neo's appeal was prompted by his deteriorating health.

His lung issues recently worsened while worries about his business and other matters have affected his mental well-being.

Seeing his children again, he said, is his “last wish”. He hopes that, through his appeal, his children might come to understand and forgive him.

Family holidays are particularly painful for Neo

Neo divorced his wife in 2003. At that time, his son was seven and his daughter was just a baby.

He acknowledged that he was an absent father. “I had never been there for them,” he said.

After he came out from prison, he did not seek out his children because he did not want to disrupt their lives or studies.

Neo told Mothership that he understands the pain of growing up in such circumstances because he himself was a child of divorced parents and was raised by his mother.

Seeing other people spend time with their children, particularly during Chinese New Year and other festivals, has been painful for him too over the years.

Despite all this, Neo is willing to take responsibility for his part in what had happened and hopes that his children can forgive him.

"I had never been there for them, [from] their small to big. Hope they will forgive me. But my love to them had never been forgotten."

Credits change to his mother who passed when he was in jail

Neo also spoke about losing his mother while he was in jail, describing the pain of being unable to bid her a final farewell.

“The [saddest] part is [that I] didn’t send her on her last journey.”

Adding to that pain, he said, was his children’s absence from their grandmother’s wake.

It was for his mother's sake that Neo had promised to change himself.

Hopes to cook for his children at his stall

When asked what reconnecting would mean to him, Neo said he hoped his children would one day turn up at his stall.

“I could fry my dishes for them,” he said.

Neo described himself as having been a “mummy's boy” when he was younger. He said he had not cooked then and had regarded cooking as a woman’s job.

His outlook has since changed and he has been working hard to build the Liang Ji name. He hopes his children will have a chance to taste their father’s cooking one day:

“To [both my] kids, [you] may hate me but remember no matter what daddy really misses and [loves you] both.”

Neo does not know when a reunion might happen but he hopes to see his son and daughter before he dies. Even so, he does not wish to force them into doing something they don't want to do.

"Should you both still can't forgive me till I die, you both also can choose not to turn up," he said.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) will pilot a full-day model at two MOE kindergartens in 2027, before progressively rolling it out to all its kindergartens from 2028 to 2030.

The pilot will take place at MK@Rivervale and MK@West View, MOE said in an Oct. 28 press release.

Speaking to the media at West View Primary School on Oct. 28, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education Syed Harun said the model would help educators better understand children’s needs and provide targeted support.

The move is part of the government's broader efforts to help families access quality and affordable preschools, as announced at the National Day Rally 2026.

Learning, play and care in one programme

MOE currently operates 56 kindergartens, which offer a four-hour Kindergarten 1 (K1) and Kindergarten 2 (K2) programme for children aged five to six.

Parents who need full-day services can opt for Kindergarten Care (KCare), which is provided by external operators appointed by MOE.

Under the new model, learning, play and care will be integrated into a single full-day programme operated by MOE.

The ministry said this would better support children's holistic development and meet families' evolving needs for a more seamless full-day learning experience.

Children will have greater continuity in learning and more sustained interactions with kindergarten staff, allowing them to build stronger relationships.

There will also be more opportunities to enrich their learning experiences, while children from disadvantaged backgrounds will benefit from a more seamless and supportive learning environment, MOE said.

The pilot's findings will guide the wider rollout from 2028 to 2030.

At the start of each year's MOE Kindergarten Registration Exercise in March, MOE will announce which kindergartens will implement the model the following year.

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Full-day services from 7am to 7pm

Kindergartens under the full-day model will operate from 7am to 7pm on weekdays during school terms and school holidays.

They will close on gazetted public holidays, MOE's designated school holidays and centre closure days.

The programme will be run by MOE Kindergarten educators, supported by MOE-hired programme officers who will help deliver activities and assist with children's care and supervision.

Children will have a wider range of learning and play experiences, including child-directed play in their Mother Tongue Language and open-ended outdoor play.

School holiday activities will include hands-on experiences incorporating STEM, drama and visual arts.

Parents who do not need full-day services can continue to choose a half-day programme, which will run from 7am to 12:30pm.

Full-day fees from S$3 after subsidies for eligible Singapore citizens

For the two kindergartens in the 2027 pilot, parents will pay a single fee instead of separate kindergarten and KCare fees.

The amount payable will depend on each family's eligibility for the Basic Subsidy, Additional Subsidy and MOE top-up subsidy.

Families enrolled in the pilot will receive preschool subsidies under the Early Childhood Development Agency's Infant and Childcare Subsidy Scheme.

This will replace the Kindergarten Fee Assistance Scheme and MOE's existing KCare subsidies for these families.

MOE will also provide additional top-up subsidies to keep out-of-pocket fees comparable to current levels.

The ministry said fees after subsidies would be comparable to the current combined kindergarten and KCare fees, as well as fees at ECDA Anchor Operator full-day childcare centres.

Parents may have to pay additional fees for learning journeys and external vendor-led programmes during the school holidays. Subsidies will be available to families who meet the relevant income criteria.

Fees for the subsequent rollout from 2028 to 2030 will be announced when available.

Educators expected to keep current working hours

On manpower, Syed Harun said the shift to a full-day model would involve changes in staffing arrangements.

However, educators are currently expected to continue working the same number of hours.

“At this point of time, we anticipate that our MK educators will be still working at the same number of hours that they do today.”

The programme will be run by MOE Kindergarten educators, supported by MOE-hired programme officers who will help deliver activities and assist with children’s care and supervision.

Syed Harun said the pilot would help MOE assess manpower needs and refine its plans ahead of the wider rollout.

Addressing educators, he said:

“My assurance to the MK educators is that we are studying how best we can support their workload as they educate our young ones at the same time.”

He added that MOE also hoped to strengthen educators’ professional development.

A 40-year-old Singaporean woman who visited dental clinics in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, apparently suffered complications after getting dental fillings at two clinics in September 2026.

Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, the woman, Li (transliterated), said the first incident took place on Sep. 4 at a clinic in Johor.

1st incident

She previously had her teeth cleaned at a different clinic from the same dental group, but could not get an appointment.

"I only wanted to get my teeth cleaned and polished, since there was nothing wrong with them, but the dentist recommended that I get fillings," she told Shin Min.

While she thought the process would be just filling material, she alleged that the dentist drilled her tooth with no warning.

It was an extremely painful process, Li said, adding that she ended up with a large hole in her tooth.

She spent about RM383 (about S$120) in total.

Li told Shin Min that the filled tooth became inflamed.

Li then had swelling on the side of her face and had to take painkillers.

"This is the first time in my life I have experienced such pain," she said.

"I sent the photos to customer service, and they pointed out that my dental nerve was exposed and arranged for me to see a senior dentist."

2nd incident

Shin Min reported that Li then visited another branch in Johor's Mount Austin about two weeks later and had her tooth refilled.

She said: "They suddenly removed all the fillings and refilled my teeth, but it still didn't turn out well.

"I still experience sensitivity and stinging when I rinse my mouth with water, and I also bite my gums when I close my teeth."

Despite contacting customer service multiple times, Li claimed their response was "very slow".

"I also want to tell everyone that it may not be worth it to go all the way to Johor Bahru for dental treatment just to save money," she said, adding that she regretted getting her teeth filled.

Root canal treatment

Li said that since her dental nerve had been exposed, the clinic recommended root canal treatment and supposedly agreed to pay for subsequent costs.

She was unwilling to immediately get root canal treatment on her second consult and wanted to get dental fillings first.

Since the results were not ideal, she decided to arrange for root canal treatment.

However, Li alleged that the clinic said it would not be responsible for the treatment cost since they claimed there had been no issues.

She claimed that the clinic was inconsistent in what it said and has reportedly not proposed any efficient solutions.

Investigation to be launched: Clinic

The dental group said that they always value patient feedback, and is commited to upholding a high standard of professional care, Shin Min reported.

Following Li's complaint, the clinic said it would investigate the incident.

It noted that it could not comment on specific treatment details due to patient privacy, but would continue to maintain a responsible and professional attitude in handling patients' complaints and concerns properly.