Two Malaysian men were presented with the SaferSG Public Spiritedness Award by the Police Coast Guard (PCG) on Jun. 16, after their timely tip-off led to the recovery of a stolen Singapore-registered pleasure craft.

According to the Singapore Police Force (SPF) news release, the vessel was found drifting in Malaysian Territorial Waters (MTW).

Suspicious sighting

On Jun. 2, Muhammad Azrie Bin Manab, a Malaysian fisherman, noticed a Singapore-registered pleasure craft berthed at a mooring buoy in MTW.

As it was unusual for a Singapore-registered vessel to be at the location, Azrie grew suspicious.

He then sent a photograph he took of the craft to his cousin, Khairil Faizal Bin Othman, to verify his doubts.

Acting on his cousin's lead, Khairil approached a PCG patrol boat later that day to alert the officers of the sighting.

This crucial information helped PCG locate and recover the missing craft, which was reported stolen earlier that day.

In collaboration with the Royal Malaysia Police's Marine Police Force, PCG secured the craft and returned it to its rightful owner.

Police investigations into the theft are currently ongoing.

Commander of the PCG and Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Ang Eng Seng expressed his appreciation to the award recipients.

"This case is an exemplary example showcasing the success of cross-jurisdiction partnership between Singapore and Malaysia."

Singapore's overall recycling rate rose slightly to 52 per cent in 2025, up from 50 per cent in 2024, according to the National Environment Agency's (NEA) waste and recycling statistics for 2025.

Each person generated 0.83kg of domestic waste per day in 2025, a 21 per cent reduction from the 1.06kg recorded in 2015, and a slight improvement from 0.85kg in 2024.

More households recycling

The domestic recycling rate remained at 11 per cent for the second consecutive year.

Domestic waste refers to waste from households, shophouses, petrol stations, hawker centres, educational institutions and places of worship.

The non-domestic recycling rate fared better, rising slightly from 65 per cent to 67 per cent.

NEA's 2025 survey also found that the 78 per cent of households, up from 72 per cent in 2023.

Awareness of what can be recycled, such as certain common household items, has also grown.

For example, 92 per cent of respondents know that a rinsed shampoo or detergent bottle can be recycled, compared to 89 per cent in 2023.

Rising freight costs

On the other hand, recycling rates for key waste streams like paper/cardboard and plastics declined slightly, with NEA attributing this to rising freight costs and volatile global commodity prices.

Since most of Singapore's recyclables are exported overseas for processing, the viability of these exports remains susceptible to external market conditions.

Singapore's food waste recycling rate also remained stable at 18 per cent.

What's being done

NEA said it will focus recycling efforts on food, paper/cardboard, and plastics, which make up the largest share of waste that is still not recycled.

Since December 2025, Public Waste Collectors have been working with town councils and trade premises to set up dedicated paper/cardboard collection points, aimed at addressing issues like overflowing recycling bins and contamination of recyclables.

Food waste segregation requirements, currently mandatory for new large commercial and industrial buildings since March 2024, will be progressively extended to existing buildings from 2028, in tandem with the completion of the food waste treatment facility at Tuas Nexus.

The Beverage Container Return Scheme, which is currently in its transition period and will be fully operational from Oct. 1,  will further support clean stream collection of metal and plastic beverage containers for recycling.

NEA also said it will be reviewing the 2019 Zero Waste Masterplan to assess progress and refresh strategies to encourage the 3Rs, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, with the aim of extending the lifespan of Semakau Landfill.

A Malaysian woman passed away at 81, but left behind three adult sons with disabilities, two of whom are "certified under mental disability".

With their sole caretaker gone, government services now have to find long-term care solutions for them.

Malaysian MP Howard Lee recounted this tragedy in a Facebook post, and the complex web of welfare, medical help, and long-term care that authorities are still sifting through.

The brothers

The situation first came to the Welfare Department's attention when a member of the public informed them that the mother had been admitted to hospital.

Lee said when the mother, the sole caregiver for the three men, passed away on Jun. 12, they needed to come up with a solution for her three sons.

He said that they are unable to take care of themselves, "not even in the slightest way".

"Without their mother, it is unthinkable what would happen to them. Their living conditions since their mother’s hospitalisation have been absolutely untenable. This has been confirmed by several visits by our office, the Welfare Department, and officials from the Ministry of Health."

He said that among the three brothers, one has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, while another has an undisclosed psychiatric condition. The middle brother suffers from severe learning difficulties.

He noted that with the funeral arrangements having been taken care of, they now have to solve the more complex issue of their long-term care.

Limitations of the system

Lee said for the first time in his 14 years of public service, he has not been able to find a workable solution for "a whole family facing impending doom".

With their mother now gone, the three brothers have no distant relatives to care for them.

Although government-backed welfare care facilities can take responsibility for the brother with learning difficulties, they are legally unable to take the other two due to scope and capacity limitations.

For the brother with learning disabilities, Lee is confident that a private home with an available bed would be willing to accept him.

The other two brothers with more severe issues would need a facility to care for them, as they are less mobile and need psychiatric assessment and treatment.

With the help of the State Health Director and the Director of the hospital, Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta has agreed to take care of them.

But Lee lamented that this leads to a more complex problem.

"But do we separate the brothers? Do we have a choice?"

Lee said that besides this, then begs the issue of coverage beyond their current situations.

"What happens when a family falls between every available category of care?"

The bigger picture

Lee then pointed out the gap that existed within these welfare systems.

"If one ministry can care for one brother, and another system can assess the other two, who is responsible for the family as a whole? If hospital care is short-term, where do they go after assessment and stabilisation? If welfare homes cannot take mental disability cases, and psychiatric facilities cannot become long-term social care homes, where does a person go when he is too ill for welfare but too socially abandoned for discharge?"

He said that for persons with mental disabilities who require long-term care with no family support, there needs to be a "clear pathway" for financial coverage and inter-agency case management.

"What happens to people with mental disability when their ageing parents die? Must every such family wait until crisis, death, hospitalisation and desperation before the state can see them?"

Lee urged that all relevant agencies must address this blind spot.

"We need facilities that do not force human beings into artificial categories just because our laws and institutions were designed in separate rooms."

He ended his post with this question: "How many more families must fall before the system admits that the cracks are real?"

A 22-year-old woman was sentenced to 21 months' probation supervision after she previously handed her grandfather's driver's licence to her boyfriend, who reportedly impersonated the elderly man to rent a car eight times.

Shin Min Daily News reported that the couple had secretly taken photos of the elderly man's licence and used them to apply for an account to rent a car.

The woman, then 19, also lent the account to a friend's boyfriend who supposedly got involved in an accident.

Pleaded guilty

Following this, the case was brought to light when the car rental platform told her grandfather to pay for damages due to the accident.

Shin Min reported that the defendant faced four charges, which included providing false information, impersonation, fraud, and illegally obtaining personal information.

She pleaded guilty to two charges, with the other two to be taken into consideration during sentencing.

Took photos of licence

In September 2022, her boyfriend, who did not have a driver's licence, asked the woman if she knew how to register an account on a car rental platform.

She then pretended that she needed to see her 74-year-old grandfather's driver's licence, Shin Min reported, adding that her grandfather produced it out of trust.

The woman then handed the licence to her boyfriend, who reportedly took photos of both sides when the elderly man was not looking.

Boyfriend impersonated grandfather

She also used her grandfather's personal information to register an account on a car rental platform.

After linking her own phone number, email address and bank card to the account, the woman gave her username, password, and one-time verification code to her boyfriend, Shin Min reported.

In addition, she had him set up fingerprint login on his phone, allowing him to use the car directly without going through her.

Her boyfriend then reportedly impersonated her grandfather to rent a car eight times between Sep. 30, 2022, and Oct. 21, 2022, where one of the trips covered a distance of 168km.

Car accident, case exposed

In October 2022, the defendant also lent the account to a friend, which was used by that friend's boyfriend to rent a car seven times between Oct. 16, 2022, and Oct. 27, 2022.

He was also reportedly involved in a car accident during this period, Shin Min reported, adding that the account using the grandfather's licence was banned by the platform in November 2022.

The next year, in August 2023, the defendant's grandfather was informed via a letter sent from the car rental company that he had to pay about S$4,000 in damages for the accident.

Shin Min reported that since the elderly man was confused, the defendant's mother then contacted the platform and was shocked to find out that an account had been registered using her daughter's phone number and email address.

The defendant claimed, however, that she was unaware of this.

To that, her mother told her to make a police report, after which a police investigation that was launched brought her actions to light.

Lied

On Oct. 5, 2023, the defendant told the police that she suspected her boyfriend had used her Singpass and personal information to register an account, according to Shin Min.

This was in spite of her knowing that she had provided a false statement, Shin Min reported, adding that the woman also helped her grandfather make a report.

She only admitted to her crimes when the police launched an investigation and was arrested on Jun. 11, 2025.

Sentencing

This saw her being sentenced to 21 months of probation, during which she needs to remain indoors from 11pm to 6am each day.

She is also required to complete 90 hours of community service, Shin Min reported, adding that as her guarantor, her mother must ensure her good behaviour.

The defendant, who was accompanied by her mother in court, now has a two-year-old child, Shin Min reported, adding that she was said to be going through divorce proceedings.

Her lawyer said this was her first brush with the law, where she had acted immaturely under her boyfriend's encouragement.

Noting that she had cooperated with the police during her probation, the lawyer added that she was actively searching for a full-time job.

Shin Min reported that the judge said that he hoped the woman would take this as a lesson and reflect during her probation, as well as to set an example for her child, since she was now a mother.

A 17-year-old boy pleaded guilty to two charges of indecency and outrage of modesty after exposing himself in front of his 43-year-old mother and demanding that she perform sexual acts on him in Batu Pahat, Malaysia.

The incident happened in their home on Jun. 1 at about 5pm, New Straits Times (NST) and Free Malaysia Today reported.

Porn

The boy became sexually aroused after watching pornographic videos in his bedroom, reported NST.

He then approached his mother, who was taking a bath.

The boy knocked on the bathroom door and asked his mother to open it.

When the door was opened, his mother found the boy with his trousers removed and demanding that she perform a sexual act on him.

She then retreated to the bathroom and locked the door from inside.

His mother later lodged a police report.

Plea

The boy pleaded guilty after the charges were read in Mandarin.

The court adjourned the case to Aug. 19 for the presentation of a social report by the Social Welfare Department, the facts of the case and sentencing.

The boy was allowed RM1,500 (S$475) bail.

However, he failed to post bail and was remanded at the Muar Correctional Centre pending further proceedings.

A 30-year-old man, known as “The Spider-Man of Yemen”, died after falling into a volcano crater while attempting to climb its rock faces without any safety equipment in Dhale, Yemen.

According to local authorities, the incident occurred on Jun. 12 at the Hardah Dam volcanic crater, Associated Press and BBC reported.

Lost grip

In videos circulating online, the man, Al-Qaqa Ibn Antar, was seen scaling a rocky cliff with Arabic names inscribed on them in white.

At one point, he was seen letting go of his left hand and holding onto the cliff walls with his right.

Antar then lost his grip and plummeted into the crater.

The depth was approximately 120m, approximately 40 storeys high.

Rescue

Local rescue teams, including diving and water specialists, were deployed to recover Antar’s body, which was found at the bottom of the crater.

Divers apparently found his body 30m below the water surface.

Local authorities described the rescue operation as "highly dangerous", and "one of the most difficult and complex field rescue missions".

The rescue team was also reportedly promoted after demonstrating "exceptional field capabilities amid rugged terrain, harsh environmental conditions and high temperatures inside the volcanic crater".

Not the first climb

According to Ynetglobal, this was not Antar’s first climb at the volcano crater.

In April 2026, he was reportedly seen climbing up the volcano’s slope for several minutes while doing calisthenic stunts.

Antar had also reportedly used his climbing skills to assist in rescue operations.

Hardah Dam

Hardah Dam, also known as the Haradhat Damt, is a volcanic crater located near the city of Damt, in the south of Yemen.

The crater features steep rocky walls with a hot sulfurous lake sitting at its base that draws visitors.

The site has reportedly seen individuals trying to hang from its rock faces.

Nine cyclists were seen not utilising the designated bicycle lane in Sentosa and one of them narrowly missed colliding with a vehicle.

The incident occurred on Jun. 13 at about 6:57am.

In a video circulating online, the large group of cyclists were seen occupying the left lane of a two-lane road.

Tried to overtake

The cyclists appeared to be riding road bikes with matching jerseys.

One of the them proceeded to overtake and was almost hit by the car recording the scene with a dashcam, prompting the driver to sound his horn.

When the group reached a roundabout, they then cut into the right lane.

They were almost hit by another car that had also entered the roundabout.

The car's brake lights came on to avoid the cyclists.

According to the Land Transport Authority (LTA), cycling groups need to keep to a maximum of five cyclists if riding in a single file, or 10 cyclists if cycling abreast.

A distance of at least 30 meters or two lampposts must also be maintained between two groups of cyclists.

After going missing for two days, a 60-year-old Gojek driver was discovered dead in his rental car at a car park on Jun. 15.

In response to Mothership's queries, the police said they were alerted at about 12:40pm to a case of unnatural death at Block 632 Bedok Reservoir Road.

The man was found motionless and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Based on preliminary investigations, the police do not suspect foul play.

The man's wife, niece, and other family members had rushed to the scene when they learned the news, according to Shin Min Daily News.

The wife was spotted crying at the scene Shin Min noted.

Went missing

The man's 21-year-old niece told Shin Min that he was a private-hire vehicle driver who worked under the ride-hailing platform Gojek.

Since he left home for work at around 11pm on Jun. 11, his family had lost contact with him.

"Usually, my uncle would return home to rest around 9am the next day," the niece continued. "But he did not come home all day on [Jun. 12 and 13]. Everyone at home felt that something was not right, so we called the police around 12am on [Jun. 14]."

The family also contacted the company that rented the car out to the deceased.

By tracking the car's GPS location, the company managed to pin down where the car was.

A place he visited often

According to the man's niece, the car park where he was found was a place he often went to when he was younger.

She believed that her uncle had been resting inside the car before he died.

The deceased also leaves behind a son and a daughter, both already working.

He had no known serious illnesses or financial difficulties, Shin Min reported.

Police investigations are ongoing.

A couple from Muar, Johor, Malaysia, have publicly cut ties with their only son after spending more than RM100,000 (S$31,600) over eight years settling his gambling debts — only for him to rack up new ones while working in Singapore.

The parents, aged 52 and 49, held a press conference on Jun. 15 to announce their decision, saying they had exhausted their life savings paying off the final RM30,000 (S$9,500) of their son's latest debts.

Any future debts incurred by him, they said, would have no connection to the family, they added.

They have also lodged a police report to formally document their position.

Son started gambling at 18

The father, who runs a food stall, told reporters his son had first started gambling at the age of 18 or 19.

Over the years, the family repeatedly paid off his debts, hoping he would turn things around, but the cycle never stopped.

About three years ago, the son moved to Singapore for work, and for a while, the family believed he had left gambling behind, according to Says Malaysia. The relief did not last.

The father said:

"To our absolute shock, last week, my wife, my two daughters, and I successively received debt-collection calls from seven different loan shark syndicates. Only then did we realise he had fallen back into debt."

Life savings gone

The father told China Press that his food stall business had been struggling in recent years, leaving the family's income increasingly unstable.

Despite this, the couple used up the remainder of their savings to settle part of the latest debts.

The balance is being paid off in instalments following negotiations with the loan sharks.

He said the number of times and the total amount of debt accumulated over the years had become too many to count, per China Press.

"This is the last time"

According to China Press, the couple said this would be the final time they stepped in for their son.

They emphasised that going forward, whatever his debts and deeds outside the home would no longer be the family's responsibility.

Tan Thiam Soon, special assistant to Bakri MP Tan Hong Pin, used the press conference to call on young people to stay away from illegal gambling and loan sharks, warning that the consequences rarely fall on the individual alone.

He pointed out that when gambling debts spiral out of control, the financial and emotional weight almost always falls on the whole family.

A woman in Singapore was at an open casting call for a modelling agency, Basic Models Management, to support her 15-year-old daughter, when she was invited to audition herself.

After passing several rounds of evaluation, the woman, Ting, signed with the modelling agency instead.

Speaking to Mothership, the agency confirmed that her daughter, Anya was not cast due to "scheduling conflicts".

Unexpected discovery

The surprise scouting was captured in season 5, episode 6 of the series 'Making of a Model', uploaded to the agency's YouTube channel.

Anya is a Singapore Permanent Resident, and her mother is Chinese while her father is French.

During the casting call with agency director Bonita Ma, Anya added that she has been in Singapore for the past eight years.

Ma asked if she had any friends that model, and the young girl mentioned that her mother used to be a model.

When Ma inquired about her mother's height, Anya revealed she was around 172cm and was currently waiting outside.

Upon hearing this, Ma immediately instructed her assistant to bring Ting into the audition room.

Return to the runway

When Ting walked in, Ma openly praised her appearance, stating that she immediately wanted to give the Chinese ex-model a "pass" to the next round.

Despite saying she was not prepared, Ting agreed to a runway trial.

When asked if she was interested in being a model, Ting expressed that she was open to the idea.

She had previously modelled in China for four to five years, but felt that as she was getting older, modelling was not a long-term career for her.

Ma reassured her, saying that times have changed and that the industry is different now.

Reflecting on the audition, Ting said, "I think it's kind of dramatic because I didn't expect to be called in to walk the runway after so many years".

Ting added that was just happy to have been there to support her daughter and help build her confidence.