A spokesperson for the Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry (METI) said "piped natural gas imported from Indonesia is for domestic use, and not for export", in response to Mothership's queries.

The statement comes after Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Downstreaming and Energy Transition Bahlil Lahadalia claimed, without providing evidence, claimed that Singapore resold some of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) it imported from Indonesia to other countries rather than using it for domestic consumption, reported The Straits Times (ST).

Bahlil also doubled down and said that his country's decision to cut gas exports to Singapore does not violate contracts.

What he said

Speaking to Indonesian reporters, Bahlil was quoted as saying: "I believe that not all of the 148 cargoes we send are used for Singapore’s own needs, but some are traded and subsequently exported to other countries."

Bahlil, who is also Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources and chairman of the Golkar Party, did not specify when the cargoes were shipped nor provide any evidence to substantiate his allegations.

The 148 cargoes refer to LNG transported by sea, which is separate from the Piped Natural Gas (PNG) from Indonesia's Natuna and Sumatra gas fields that were subject to supply cuts.

LNG "usually moves from source to destination country directly"

Bahlil's statements come amid calls for the easing of bilateral tensions over energy supplies and transboundary haze.

The METI spokesperson noted that Singapore is an international trading hub, including for LNG, with "more than 50 Singapore-based companies that buy, market, and trade LNG sourced from markets around the world, including Indonesia".

The spokesperson added that these companies' top source markets include the U.S., Australia and Malaysia.

"While Singapore-based traders make the commercial decisions relating to the cargo, the actual LNG cargo usually moves from source to destination country directly and does not physically pass through Singapore."

Transactions regarding LNG trading and re-exporting are subject to supply agreement terms.

SKK Migas, Indonesia's upstream oil and gas regulator, first broke the news at an energy industry awards ceremony in Jakarta, stating that 31 billion British thermal units per day (BBTUD) were to be cut.

Singapore's Energy Market Authority (EMA) then confirmed that the actual reduction was around 17 billion British thermal units per day over 18 days, which was less than 2 per cent of Singapore's daily gas demand.

Previous comments

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong had previously said on Oct. 25 that Singapore expected all parties to "honour their commitments" under commercial contracts, two days after Indonesia announced gas export cuts.

On Oct. 26, Bahlil directly responded to PM Wong's remarks, stating that the gas supplied to Singapore meets minimum contractual levels.

"Our nation is a nation that honours contracts, rules. So don't teach Indonesia on how to honour contracts."

According to Indonesian media outlet Kompas, on Oct. 28, Bahlil explained that the total gas export volume from Indonesia to Singapore stood at 409.5 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD), with the cut being 31 MMSCFD.

Bahlil claimed that this still exceeds the minimum threshold stipulated in the contract.

The last time Prema Menon saw her older brother, he was lying on his bed as they spoke over a family Zoom call.

Prema was in Australia, her brother, Arjun Menon, in Malawi, and the rest of their family back in Singapore.

Their father used to like to arrange these Zoom calls to discuss family matters — it was their usual run-of-the-mill conversations.

She never imagined that would be the last time she would see her brother.

On May 11, 2025, Arjun passed away after he was attacked and killed in Malawi on his way home from a night out in what is suspected to be a robbery gone wrong.

Arjun, a former Singapore national cricketer, was working in Malawi as the operations manager of Cricket Malawi.

Almost a year and a half later, Prema and the family are still fighting to uncover the truth.

They also want continued action and investigation from the authorities, Prema tells Mothership in an interview at their family home in September.

The call

Going back to the day the family received the news of Arjun's death, Prema said it was "earth-shattering".

"I don't think anybody expects to receive news of a sibling passing," she said.

Prema happened to be in Singapore that day, and was out with her family going for house viewings.

They received a call from an unknown overseas number, and Prema's younger sister picked up the phone.

It was Arjun's wife, screaming that he had been murdered, Prema recounted.

"I was in disbelief. I thought, is this a prank? Like, is this actually happening? Am I dreaming?" she said.

What followed was a blur, Prema said: "Everything around you starts to almost fade out, and all you can hear is like the blood rushing in your head, and that's what it really felt like."

To make it more painful, she had to be the one to relay the news to her family.

"I think to tell your parents and kind of watch it sink in for them, and to watch their anguish is actually one of the worst things to experience," she said.

That day, something changed in her as she watched her mother, father, and sister in such a deep state of distress.

"You kind of know that your life is never going to be the same again."

Flew over to Malawi

A few days after they received the call, Prema flew over to Malawi to put Arjun to rest, on behalf of the family.

They decided not to bring him back to Singapore because they knew he loved Malawi a lot.

"Going there was a strange experience. I think you're going to a country that you've heard so much about. My brother talked about it so much, but you're going under this very weird circumstance that is deeply sad," Prema said.

The next five days would be the longest of Prema's life.

Funeral arrangements, cremation, sea burial, and the scattering of ashes.

"I went through the motions like a robot," she said.

"It's really hard to believe it is happening, but time moves on, and you just have to get it done. So it becomes this very weird, almost insulated, robotic slow-motion film that happens that you have no control over."

What they know

The family was told that Arjun was attacked by unknown assailants outside the compound of his home.

He had gone out for the night with a couple of friends and had gone back home alone. He was attacked as he was on the way home.

"So that's all we know. His wallet was stolen. His car was later found abandoned. And sadly, we don't know more than that. Even 16 months on," Prema said.

When she was in Malawi, she was focused on making sure Arjun got a good send-off and didn't focus too much on getting answers from the authorities.

Arjun's boss, the president of cricket in Malawi, had also assured her that he had it under control and was speaking to the police.

As the system was foreign to her, she also didn't feel that stepping in would help at that point.

So she left it in the hands of Arjun's bosses and the Malawi cricket association.

But a couple of months later, the family would hear the same thing — the investigation is still ongoing.

By September 2025, Prema started speaking to different people to figure out what she could do to take the case forward herself and look for answers.

Mother's death

At the same time, Prema's mother was struggling with a chronic condition that had progressed.

She eventually passed away in December 2025.

"My mother is very central to who I am. She's a huge part of my life, and I think when I lost her, I lost a part of me," Prema said, tearing up.

It felt like something in her finally broke, she said.

For a long time after Arjun's passing, Prema had held it together for the family, naturally stepping into the shoes of the "oldest sibling" after his death.

She had felt the responsibility to take the matter of his murder on herself.

"So when [my mother] passed, I felt like the universe was against me. I felt like nothing. You ask yourself: 'What is all of this even for?' Like, not just my mother's life or my brother's life. What's my life even for?" Prema said.

Thinking she needed a mental health break, she temporarily stopped her search for answers.

Grief

This was when Prema was finally able to properly grieve.

"I think sometimes when death happens, especially in our circumstances where it's tragic, you are very focused on outcomes," she said.

"You actually don't let yourself feel the loss," she added.

"I think by grieving my mother, I learned how to grieve my brother. By grieving my brother, I grieve parts of my mother. It is a deeply affecting experience."

But another thing Prema learned through her grief was that it is a blessing to be able to grieve people so deeply — because it meant she loved them so much and felt so loved by them.

"That's why I had to take a break. It really rewired my brain a little bit," she said.

Restarting the search for answers

Around February or March in 2026, Prema started to think about kickstarting the search for answers into Arjun's death again.

But she wasn't sure how exactly she could do it.

A lot of Arjun's friends and people around her were also asking her about the progress and why nothing was happening.

Prema realised that many of them did not have the context that she did, and that was when she realised the easiest way was to let them witness her process of looking for answers.

In July 2026, she set up social media pages and started documenting herself looking for answers.

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A post shared by arjunmenonsg (@arjunmenonsg)

Updates

On Jul. 16, Prema called the original investigating officer of Arjun's case for an update and was told that the case had been reassigned to a new inspector.

This inspector then told Prema that a factual report had already been sent to the Singapore Embassy in Beijing.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) had liaised with the Singapore Embassy in Beijing as a liaison embassy to speak to Malawi to ask for updates, as there was no embassy in Malawi.

Prema asked for a copy of the report and was promised she would get it.

Some people she knew in Malawi also contacted her on Jul. 17, saying they had been called in for questioning and there was just this flurry of activity by the police.

To Prema, some signs of action from the Malawi police were good news — it was a sign they were finally moving, and the case wasn't getting cold.

But she received the report only weeks later, dated Jul. 31, 2026 — two weeks after she called them.

She said the report was also only received by the Singapore Embassy in Beijing on Aug. 12, 2026, nearly a month after she was first told it was already on its way.

She also found the report sparse, with just a few additional details of the case.

Eventually, things fizzled out.

As of Sep. 30, 2026, the main investigating officer has changed his phone number, and she is unable to make contact with any of the investigating team.

In response to Mothership's queries, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said they have reached out to the Malawi authorities and will render necessary assistance, within the ambit of Singapore's laws, should a request be made.

As of Oct. 27, SPF has not received any request for assistance from the Malawi authorities regarding this case.

What she hopes to achieve

Prema said her ultimate goal is to compel those who can help to act.

"My hope is we get enough momentum going that somebody feels compelled to act, and those who can help us and need to help us will act," she said.

"The fact of the matter is, we are the next of kin. We are owed answers. That fact that nobody feels like we are owed answers is actually a deeply offensive and insulting feeling."

"We've lost someone," she added.

Remembering Arjun

To Prema, Arjun was her "teddy bear" big brother, one she could always count on for positivity and optimism.

Someone she went to for advice and someone who would celebrate her wins with her.

"Arjun had the ability to look at you and see the best in you and make you believe that you could achieve things. He also had the ability to talk to you and make you feel like you're the most important person," she shared.

If she could have one more conversation with him, Prema said she would simply ask Arjun if it's going to be okay.

"And I sense he would say, 'Yeah, you'll be fine.' I take a lot of comfort in that."

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has expelled a record number of 33 members as it concluded its major political gathering, the plenum.

China Daily reported that the four-day plenum, which concluded on Oct. 29, covered the achievements of the party and the preservation of the party's self-governance.

This included highlighting steps to ensure officials would not have the audacity to commit corruption.

Party discipline was centred on this edition of the plenum, whereas past meetings focused on economic reforms or social and development issues, reported the BBC.

First time plenum attendance dropped below 300 in Xi's 14 years

According to the BBC, this fifth plenum had 279 Central Committee members, while October 2025's fourth plenum had 315 and July 2024's third plenum had 364.

This is the first time plenum attendance has dropped below 300 in Xi's 14 years of rule.

China Daily noted that the session also discussed the filling of empty seats on the CCP's Central Committee by alternate members.

The CCP also decided to convene its National Congress in Beijing in the second half of 2027 at the Plenum.

This will be the 21st party congress. It is an event held every five years and determines the leadership of the party and, eventually, China, according to the BBC.

Fight against corruption

Since coming to power in 2012, one of Xi Jinping's core missions has been to stamp out corruption.

Over two million individuals are facing disciplinary action for "pointless formality, bureaucratism, hedonism and extravagance", according to Chinese state-owned media, Xinhua.

According to the BBC, which cited a report issued on Oct. 29, 16 of the 33 members purged were from the military.

These dismissals raise the total figure of removed members in Xi's third term to 51, an increase from 35 in his first term and five in his second term.

BBC reported that China's top anti-corruption watchdog said 680,000 people across the CCP had been disciplined in the first nine months of 2026.

High-ranking officials who were axed

The high-ranking officials who were axed include former Xinjiang Party chief Ma Xingrui and ex-generals Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, the BBC reported.

According to Xinhua, Ma was investigated and found to have violated "political organisation and integrity discipline", as well as helped family members purchase homes at below-market prices and engaged in money for sex transactions, among other actions.

BBC reported that Ma and Zhang were former Politburo members; their removal, alongside former general He Weidong, brought the 24-man Politburo down to 21 members.

A former diplomat, Liu Jianchao, was also named among those purged after disappearing from public view in July 2025, the BBC stated.

American intelligence formerly alleged that a Singapore-based data centre company, Megaspeed, was smuggling Nvidia chips to China.

Now, they have reportedly found that one executive of Megaspeed is not only a Chinese intelligence asset but has developed a close relationship to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

According to The New York Times (NYT), Megaspeed executive Alice Huang, or Huang Le, a Chinese citizen, has been seen together with Jensen Huang multiple times over the past two years.

U.S. surveillance has allegedly confirmed that the two are in close contact.

They share the same surname but are unrelated.

The U.S. believes that this is part of a plot to obtain sensitive information from Jensen Huang, who is not only an influential tech leader but a close associate of U.S. President Donald Trump, fearing that Trump's stances on key tech and AI issues may be leaked to China.

CNA stated that Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun denied the existence of such a plot.

"The report in question is based on groundless speculation and is nothing more than an attempt to smear China," he said.

Who is Alice Huang?

NYT previously reported that information about Alice Huang is scarce, though they discovered that she allegedly worked first as a news reporter and then a private banker in China.

She then became a top executive at Megaspeed. However, even her exact position at Megaspeed is unclear.

Jensen Huang, who is married, was first seen together with Alice Huang in June 2024, mingling at a bar with other tech executives after a technology trade show in Taipei.

One executive, Parker Schmitt, told NYT that Alice Huang said "I bet you guys I can get Jensen here," referring to the CEO by his first name.

Jensen Huang then showed up shortly after and drank whiskey with the group.

A year later in May, the two were seen leaving a Taipei restaurant after a business dinner with other AI suppliers.

Beyond just business deals, U.S. intelligence is worried about Alice Huang's purported funneling of information to Beijing due to Jensen Huang's proximity to Trump.

Jensen Huang had personally met with Trump to convince him to allow Nvidia to sell chips to China, and Nvidia later donated at least US$20 million (S$25.5 million) to Trump's White House ballroom fund, one source told NYT.

When Chinese leader Xi Jinping visited the U.S. in September 2026, Jensen Huang was also present at the table.

The U.S. thus fears that Alice Huang may be privy to sensitive information about both Trump and Nvidia.

Intelligence officers reportedly briefed Trump about the possible espionage regarding Jensen Huang, but NYT reported that he chose to do nothing.

What's Megaspeed?

Megaspeed buys chips to build data centres and rent their computing power to companies in other countries, such as China.

However, it faces accusations that it smuggles advanced AI chips to China.

According to NYT, the U.S. government has been cracking down on AI chip sales to China over fears that they would gain access to advanced technology.

Yet Megaspeed and Nvidia have done brisk business, with Megaspeed's sister company buying at least US$4.8 billion (S$6.13 billion) worth of advanced AI equipment from 2024 to 2026.

Nvidia claims that Megaspeed was "like any other regional customer", denying that the two companies had any special relationship.

The company's spokesman, John Rizzo, added that Jensen Huang and Alice Huang's meetings "are not unusual or unexpected", and that "meetings with customers are part of a CEO's job."

Regarding the assertions that Megaspeed has been smuggling chips to China, Rizzo said that Nvidia had debunked such claims, and that they had verified that Megaspeed had no Chinese shareholders.

Jensen Huang himself told Bloomberg on Oct. 29 2026 that Nvidia examined how Megaspeed was utilising their chips and concluded that they were not diverting them to China.

"We've studied all their deployments of our GPUs (graphic processing units) and counted every one," he said.

But U.S. intelligence has taken a different view, with one 2024 investigation at Megaspeed's data centre in Malaysia showing that the purchased AI equipment was still in boxes and left uninstalled.

This suggested that the equipment was to be shipped out rather than used on-site.

Singapore itself conducted an investigation into Megaspeed in 2025, bringing Alice Huang in for questioning before releasing her.

A Vietnamese student in Taipei is hoping to reconnect with a Singaporean man who helped her when she felt unwell on a Scoot flight, after regretting not exchanging contact details with him.

The woman, who gave her name as Mei Ling, told Mothership that she had travelled to Singapore for a concert and was returning to Taipei alone on Oct. 3.

Nearly a month later, she is still thinking about her seatmate and wondering whether he felt the same connection she did.

The man offered his jacket, medicine and water

Mei Ling, 29, said she was seated in 26E on Scoot flight TR872 from Singapore to Taipei. The man was beside her in 26F.

The flight was scheduled to depart Singapore at 12:25pm and arrive in Taipei at 5:10pm.

Mei Ling said she had trouble sleeping and felt a little motion sick during the flight.

About halfway through the journey, her seatmate noticed that she seemed uncomfortable and asked: “Everything is okay?”

He continued checking on her, offered her his jacket when he thought she might be cold, and gave her headache medicine. He also bought her water to take it with.

Mei Ling said the man's willingness to lend her his jacket was particularly touching because she noticed he was cold himself: "What touched me even more was that you seemed cold yourself. I noticed you sniffing repeatedly, yet you were still willing to share your jacket with me."

“You were a stranger, but for a little while, you made me feel as though I wasn’t alone,” she wrote in her appeal.

Did not exchange names or contact details

Mei Ling said the man first spoke to her in English. As she was not confident in the language, she replied in Chinese, and he tried to communicate with her in Chinese instead, although she described his Chinese as not very fluent.

When asked whether he was Chinese, the man said he was Singaporean.

That was essentially all she learnt about him. They did not exchange names or contact details.

She described him as wearing glasses, dressed entirely in black and travelling alone with a backpack. She estimated that he was in his twenties, but did not confirm his age.

Mei Ling said she had initially been guarded because she was unsure of his intentions.

“At the time, I thought we would only meet once, so I didn’t ask more questions,” she told Mothership.

Afterwards, she regretted not getting to know him better.

Saw him again on the airport train

When the plane landed, Mei Ling said she remained unsure whether to make an effort to stay in touch.

She thanked him and returned his jacket, but they parted without exchanging contact details.

There was, however, another opportunity.

Mei Ling said she saw him again on the train from the airport to Taipei, but hesitated to approach him.

“I didn’t realise at the time that missing an opportunity could mean missing it forever,” she said.

Looking back, she wished she had been less guarded and more courageous.

Hopes to find out whether the feeling was mutual

Mei Ling said she wants to meet him again to thank him properly and find out whether he felt a connection too.

“If he tells me that he helped me on the plane because he felt something more than just being a kind stranger, then I would like to have the chance to know him better and thank him properly,” she said.

“But if he tells me that it was only the kindness of a stranger, I will also be okay with that and let it go without another regret.”

She said she had tried unsuccessfully to find him through the airline.

“This is probably my last attempt and a little bit of hope,” she said.

If the man sees the appeal, Mei Ling hopes he will feel comfortable getting in touch, without any pressure.

He can contact her by email at meilingyang2806@gmail.com.

“I may regret not knowing the answer, but I won’t regret trying to find him because I know I did my best,” she said.

“Whatever the answer is, I will accept it.”

A 34-year-old foreign man was arrested after allegedly damaging gaming machines and assaulting an auxiliary police officer at a casino in Genting Highlands, Malaysia.

The incident occurred at around 5am on Oct. 27, 2026, at SkyCasino in Bentong, Pahang, according to Malaysia Gazette.

The man, who was believed to have been intoxicated, had allegedly behaved aggressively towards members of the public before entering the casino.

Allegedly damaged 3 gaming machines, 2 chairs

Acting Bentong district police chief Azmi Mahmod said preliminary investigations found that the man had repeatedly banged his head and two chairs against the screens of three gaming machines.

Total losses were estimated at RM85,000 ($$26,865).

According to Bernama, the suspect also sustained a forehead injury during the incident, Azmi said.

Auxiliary police officer suffers 2 broken teeth

A 32-year-old auxiliary police officer who was on duty at the casino attempted to control the situation and stop the suspect, according to Malaysia Gazette.

However, the man allegedly punched the officer in the mouth, breaking two of his teeth.

The officer subsequently received treatment at Bentong Hospital.

The suspect also received treatment for his injuries before being brought to the Bentong district police headquarters for further investigations.

No previous criminal record

Initial police checks found that the suspect had no previous criminal record and tested negative for drugs.

Azmi said police were gathering witness statements, reviewing closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage and seeking a remand order to assist with investigations.

A Chinese woman who had been battling bone cancer for five years died in Shanghai, China, on Oct. 27 at the age of 23, according to her close friend.

China Press reported that the woman from China's Hefei province was previously diagnosed with bone cancer at the age of 18.

She later shared her story online under the name "Xiaxia", drawing a lot of sympathy and encouragement from her viewers.

According to her friend, Xiaxia passed away in the hospital on Oct. 27.

Her mother, who had not seen her in years, visited her before she passed.

Her friend is currently helping out with the funeral arrangements.

Went through treatment alone

An earlier report mentioned that she underwent six major surgeries, including one that led to her leg being amputated when she was just 19.

Xiaxia did not have family to turn to for support and went through years of treatment and surgeries on her own.

In a video posted on Jan. 15, she said that she had been hospitalised again as her cancer cells had spread to her ribs and pleura, requiring another round of operations.

Abandoned by family

In 2021, Xiaxia first learnt of her illness after she suddenly fainted during her college entrance exams, she explained.

At the time, the doctor she saw told her that she had malignant bone cancer and recommended she go to Beijing for treatment.

However, her parents refused to take her there.

According to Xiaxia, her mother said she was a burden to the family, and her parents did not want to pursue treatment because of the high hospital and medical fees.

A year after she was diagnosed, her mother cut off contact with her, and her father had not visited her once, HK01 reported.

Positive mindset

Despite her circumstances, Xiaxia had continued to display independence and a positive mindset.

She signed off on her own surgical consent forms, saved up money to buy a prosthetic limb for herself, and travelled to different places seeking medical treatment.

When she talked about having to amputate a leg to survive, she said that it was very much worth it to trade a leg for a life.

She had also expressed optimism in entering her age on her Douyin page as "100", signalling that her goal was to live to 100 years old.

"Although doing this alone is truly very tough, I feel very lucky to receive support and encouragement from the media and everyone," she said.

A Singaporean husband and his Thai wife admitted to running an online prostitution network that sent Thai women to Singapore for sex work.

According to The Thaiger, the husband recruited the women while his wife built the prostitution network's online store and found the customers.

The couple are part of a group of five individuals who were arrested by Thai police in the eastern Thai city of Rayong and the northern Thai city of Phitsanulok.

Two Singaporean men are among the five arrested.

Admitted to sending Thai women to Singapore

Police only released the first names of the accused.

Leow, 46, told officers that he started procuring the women and sending them to Singapore in 2019 along with Aaron, 42, another Singaporean.

He said he reached customers through three messaging apps: Telegram, LINE and WhatsApp.

Leow's wife Apaporn, 37, added that besides running the network's online shopfront, she found clients and arranged accommodation for the women in Singapore.

35-year-old Pongsakorn said he held an administrative role, responding to customers and editing the women's photographs.

The last of the accused, 33-year-old Nanthanee, denied being part of the network and said she lent her bank account unaware of what it was used for.

All five face prostitution-related charges of procuring women, running and profiting from prostitution, advertising sexual services, money laundering, and taking part in a transnational criminal organisation, reported The Thaiger.

Thai police did not state how many women were sent to Singapore or if any of them remain in Singapore.

The case began in Singapore

The case began in Singapore, with officers from the specialised crime branch of Singapore's Criminal Investigation Department giving information about the online prostitution network that was moving women across countries to Thai investigators.

According to The Thaiger, Thai investigators traced the subjects, finding transfers and proceeds from prostitution linked to a network identified as Lover's Fortress.

Investigators said the network ran through two websites named 7th Heaven and 7th Heaven 2.

Thai police obtained arrest warrants, and searches were conducted at two addresses.

15 phones, three computers and laptops, 16 bank books and 10 ATM cards were found alongside 100,000 baht (S$3,794) in cash and jewellery.

The seized items were valued at more than 350,000 baht (S$13,280).

987fm DJ and celebrity host Germaine Leonora Tan spent four hours being transformed into the character of Emily from the 2005 movie "Corpse Bride" for a Halloween photoshoot with her fiancé, Zouk Group CEO Andrew Li.

There was just one detail: neither of them has actually watched the film.

“This is where we expose ourselves: neither of us has actually watched it!” Tan told Mothership.

“Andrew read out to me the entire synopsis and thought the ending was incredibly bittersweet.”

The couple recreated the looks of Emily and Victor ahead of their own wedding the following week, with Tan in blue make-up and Li sporting a longer-haired wig.

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A post shared by GERMAINE LEONORA (@germaineleonora)

Dressing is a Halloween baby tradition for Tan

Tan, who turns 31 on the 31st, said being a "Halloween baby" made dressing up an annual tradition for her. With her wedding approaching, the theme felt particularly fitting.

“Entirely mine - Andrew would want me to make that very clear!” she said of whose idea it was.

Tan called the shoot a "little bridal rehearsal, just with considerably more blue paint", and although she had shown Li a reference beforehand, she suspected he only fully grasped what he had agreed to once he was in the make-up chair.

“There was a moment when I think his life flashed before his eyes.”

While she has not watched the film, Tan said she could relate to what she knew of Emily.

“She’s a hopeless romantic and a little dramatic. That felt like fairly familiar territory.”

Transformation to blue took four hours

The transformation was the work of Celebrity and Fashion Makeup Artist Kenneth Chia and hairstylist Christian Maranion, who worked on Tan’s wig.

Chia, who has worked with Tan for about three and a half years, told Mothership that the timing made the idea an easy one to agree to.

“I love people who love to serve a look,” he said.

With Tan’s Halloween birthday and wedding approaching, Chia said, “There was no way I was going to say anything but yes”.

Tan had set her eyes on film’s poster as her goal for this recreation, so Chia kept a picture of the character in front of him as he worked freehand.

“We’ve built so much trust over the years working together, that I can jump right in with confidence,” he said.

Getting the blue right was particularly important.

“The correct shade of blue was also really important to me; otherwise it would’ve gone into Smurf or Avatar territory. Beauty is all about the nuance, even when you’re painting someone blue,” Chia said.

He began by mapping the contours of Tan’s body and pre-mixing the tones to keep the colours consistent throughout the application.

His background in editorial and beauty work helped, but achieving the right opacity, depth and softness on camera was still a challenge.

“It’s like highlighting and contouring but in a colour that doesn’t exist on your face. So any mistakes show up very clearly. There’s no hiding.”

He also had to adapt the animated character’s exaggerated features to Tan’s facial proportions.

Beyond the colour, Chia wanted to capture the “endearing humanness” he saw in Tim Burton’s characters.

The process involved what he called “cardio blending”, along with plenty of sweat. A time-lapse of the transformation was posted on Instagram.

After about four hours in hair and make-up, Tan spent another hour or so shooting with photographer Bryan Foong.

A 'significant act of love' from Tan's fiancé

Li’s hair and make-up took about an hour, although Tan joked that it might have felt much longer to him.

“He really hates having any makeup on his face, so this was a significant act of love,” she said. “Truly princess treatment - a man who’ll let himself be painted into a Tim Burton character for your birthday.”

Chia recalled Li entering the studio and seeing Tan in a bald cap, painted blue-grey from head to toe, with sad eyebrows. The make-up artist said this was probably when Li realised what he had signed up for.

Still, Li embraced the experience, Chia said, adding that sitting in a make-up chair could feel vulnerable.

“So brownie points to him for the trust,” he added.

As for Li’s assessment of Tan’s finished look, she recalled asking: “How do you like my look?”

His response: “It’s… very blue.”

“Four hours in hair and makeup, and that was my review,” Tan said.

She also struggled to stop laughing at Li’s wig. As he normally keeps his hair very short, she told him he resembled Andy Lau in his long-haired days.

S$170 on costumes and props

Tan said the costumes and props cost about S$170, and she is happy to lend them out to others.

“If anyone wants to borrow them for Halloween, drop me a DM - I’d love for them to have a second life,” she said.

There were additional production costs, but Tan declined to disclose those arrangements out of respect for the team involved.

As for Emily and Victor's sad ending in the film, Tan said: “We’re borrowing their outfits, not their ending!”

“If anything, seeing Andrew embrace something so far outside his comfort zone just to make me happy felt like a very good sign for our marriage."

"I might be the hopeless romantic, but he’s the one quietly doing the romantic things,” she added.

Looking forward to the upcoming wedding

With their wedding in Thailand approaching, Tan said they were both excited. She was also thinking a great deal about the food.

“I keep hearing that brides barely get to eat at their own weddings, and I’m really hoping that won’t be me.”

The couple, whom she described as huge foodies, have put considerable thought into their menus.

Their love of Thai cuisine means guests can expect dishes such as tom yum and khao soi, with the possibility of a little Thai market as well.

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A Singaporean dog obedience trainer and her border collie won fifth place at the FCI Agility World Championship (AWC) 2026 held in Turku, Finland, in September 2026.

Elsa Soo, who is also a dog agility judge, bested nearly 100 competitors alongside her nine-and-a-half-year-old dog partner Venus.

In a Facebook post, Soo said: "This has probably been the most emotional AWC of my agility journey."

"I think my biggest fear wasn’t that Venus would fail me. I was afraid I would fail Venus."

The 60-year-old told Mothership that she felt the pressure, even if this was their fifth AWC together.

"I am 60 years old, I have bad legs, and I cannot suddenly make myself run like a 25-year-old handler. So I had to find another way."

Soo said she knew "Venus was ready" and that "one wrong movement" could take away an opportunity they had worked so hard for.

Started with the Singapore Prison Service Dogs Unit

Soo had worked with dogs for a large part of her life, starting with the Singapore Prison Service Dog Unit.

She was the first woman to undergo narcotics dog training and was also seconded to the Police Dog Unit for a year, where she was trained in protection work.

Her first dog agility competition was in 2010 with a Schnauzer.

Following this was Soo's border collie Sirius, who started training in agility in 2015 and became Soo's first dog to compete overseas in 2016.

She trained another border collie, Aries, prior to her work with Venus.

Soo eventually applied for early retirement from the Singapore Prison Service to pursue her interest in dog training and agility, citing the limitations that came when applying for leave and travelling overseas.

"I wanted more freedom to compete internationally, learn more, train more and see how far I could go in the sport."

She started Starrelito K9 Training, a dog training academy in March 2019.

The underdog

The picture Soo painted of Venus was very different from the impression a reader would get from the confident canine on Soo's social media.

She said: "Venus arrived in Singapore from the UK as a very shy little puppy. She was tiny and quite worried about her new environment."

"She wasn't particularly playful, and honestly she wasn't a fast learner either. My cousin even labelled her 'stupid'."

The pup was also at the bottom of the pecking order, and Soo's older border collies "didn't really like this little newcomer and would correct her if she came too close".

However, Venus was patient and earned her place in due time, eventually sitting near the food preparation table, "a very privileged position in my house where previously only Sirius was allowed to stay."

"She might not have been a fast learner, but she had patience, she observed, and she had the brain to work things out in her own way."

Blood, sweat and tears

Soo had trained Venus since she was a puppy, stating that their partnership had been more than nine years in the making.

"There is no shortcut to that kind of relationship. Sometimes I joke that agility is built with sweat and blood — except in my case, there really has been some blood."

From a torn knee ligament to hairline cracks in her ribcage, Soo detailed the struggles she faced during training.

She added, with good humour, of course: “Anyone who trains high-drive dogs will probably understand those enthusiastic reward sessions when the dog aims for the toy and occasionally your arm becomes part of the deal.”

Significance of a Singaporean team succeeding on a global stage

It was hard for Soo to pinpoint the feelings she had regarding winning fifth place.

"Singapore is such a small country, and our agility community is even smaller, but I never believed that being small means we cannot be good", Soo said.

Citing her goal of raising the standard of Singapore dog agility, Soo said she centred a big part of her life around the goal.

She volunteered in the Singapore Kennel Club and worked alongside other enthusiasts to bring in training equipment, overseas judges and trainers.

"In the beginning, we got eliminated very often. Then slowly came some clean runs, then more clean runs, and eventually we started getting results overseas."

The duo finished ninth at the European open in 2025.

Cheeky outside of competition

When asked what Venus was like outside of the competition, Soo described her canine partner as "sweet and calm" for the most part but also a "cheeky, demanding and even a naughty mother".

"Venus is actually a mother of six beautiful puppies, and many of them have turned out to be just as crazy about agility as their mother."

But underneath it all, Soo said Venus was an "incredibly understanding dog".