A 40-year-old Indonesian man was sentenced to life imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane after attempting to smuggle more than 1kg of methamphetamine in women’s underwear he wore in Malaysia.

The man, identified as Amriadi, was sentenced on Jul. 9, New Straits Times reported.

Smuggle

The incident occurred on Oct. 11, 2024, at about 9:45am, at the Tawau Ferry Terminal.

Amriadi, who was a father of one and worked as a farmer in South Sulawesi in Indonesia, was detained at the passenger inspection area before he could board a ferry.

He was headed from the Tawau Ferry Terminal to the Nunukan Port in Indonesia.

A body search revealed he was wearing a black corset, with five packs of drugs hidden inside a pair of women's underwear he had on.

Another portion of the drugs was concealed in the soles of his shoes.

1,078.9g of methamphetamine was found on Amriadi.

Defiance

In mitigation, Amriadi’s lawyer noted he was a first-time offender who was remorseful.

Amriadi pleaded for leniency.

The prosecution argued that the weight of the seized drugs remained the primary factor to be considered in sentencing.

She further argued that a heavy deterrent sentence was warranted as public interest outweighed the personal interest of the accused.

In his verdict, the judge said Amriadi was caught while attempting to leave Malaysia.

He said Amriadi demonstrated defiance of Malaysia laws, despite knowing the risks of undergoing security checks at the Tawau Ferry Terminal.

In Malaysia, drug traffickers are liable to the death penalty or life imprisonment and a minimum of 12 strokes of the cane.

A paddleboarder died following a lightning strike at the Pasir Ris beach area on Jul. 5 at about 4:46pm.

In response to queries from Mothership, the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) said the lightning strike was detected when the main thunderstorm cloud was still a few kilometres away.

A total of 1,569 lightning strikes were observed that day, MSS added.

Thunderstorms developed near Yishun

According to MSS, thunderstorms that day began developing in the north of Singapore near the Yishun area at about 3:20pm and moved north-westwards.

Forecasts for thundery showers were issued for many locations in the west, central and north of Singapore, said MSS, which is under the National Environment Agency (NEA).

Subsequently, at around 4:30pm, thunderstorms developed around Punggol and moved westward away from Pasir Ris.

These further developed and intensified rapidly into a large cell which extended over the Straits of Johor, MSS said.

Several lightning strikes in north of Singapore

Based on NEA's lightning detection system, several lightning strikes were observed over the north of Singapore and the Straits of Johor, MSS said.

The data showed that only one lightning strike was detected at the Pasir Ris beach area at about 4:46pm, when the main thunderstorm cloud was still a few kilometres away.

At about 4:50pm, the police responded to a call where a man was apparently struck by lightning while paddleboarding at Pasir Ris Beach.

Mikhail Benyamin, a 24-year-old freelance sea sports instructor, was brought to Sengkang General Hospital, where he later died from his injuries.

Lightning can strike a distance away from the main thunderstorm cloud even when there are no showers, MSS explained.

Lightning alert

NEA provides a lightning information service through the myENV app and the weather information website.

By default, alerts will be triggered if cloud-to-ground lightning is detected and/or forecasts of thundery showers are issued within a 6km radius of the location for the next two hours, MSS said.

Following the initial alerts, notifications will also be sent when no lightning activity has been observed over the watch area for the past 30 minutes, or when thundery showers are no longer expected.

For the afternoon of Jul. 5, the forecast of thundery showers for the Pasir Ris town centre was issued at about 4:30pm and cloud-to-ground lightning was detected subsequently.

Depending on the settings selected in myENV, MSS said users would have received alerts for these events shortly after.

Singapore has high incidence of lightnings

Singapore has a high incidence of lightning, with an average of 176 lightning days per year, MSS said.

Data collected over the last 10 years showed that between 6,400 and 39,600 lightning strikes were detected over these areas in July, while the annual number of lightning strikes ranged from approximately 216,000 to 380,000.

"Our records do not indicate any discernible trend in lightning occurrences over the years," MSS said.

What is lightning?

"Lightning is a large electrical discharge produced by a thunderstorm cloud, whether over land, coastal, or sea areas," MSS said.

Locations in open spaces like fields, beaches, and parks are generally more at risk of lightning strikes due to the exposure and absence of lightning protection.

Tall structures may also be more susceptible to strikes as they provide a shorter path for charges to reach the ground, MSS said.

Here are some precautions to protect yourself:

A man in Taiwan has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after breaking into his ex-girlfriend's home in the middle of the night and repeatedly stabbing her new partner with a knife.

All of this happened while a young child slept in the same room.

The Taichung District Court found the defendant, surnamed Zheng, guilty of attempted murder, according to 8world.

What happened

The incident took place in the early hours of Jul. 13, 2022, at a residential property in Taichung, according to Taiwanese outlet ETtoday.

Reports mentioned that Zheng had called the victim earlier that night, demanding he spoke to him.

Zheng then broke into the home in the early hours of the morning and entered the room where the victim and a young child were asleep.

The victim told the court he was woken by sharp pain, only to find Zheng attacking him repeatedly with a machete.

He tried to fend off the blows with his bare hands, but sustained multiple stab wounds to his chest and limbs.

At one point, he could not breathe due to the severity of a chest injury.

Zheng continued the attack until the victim called out for help and alerted the police, at which point Zheng fled.

The victim was hospitalised with an open wound approximately 16cm long on his right chest, along with fractures, severed tendons and ruptured nerves.

Zheng fled, evaded police for years

After the attack, Zheng evaded authorities for several years before being arrested following a warrant, according to 8world.

Defendant denied intent to kill

During the trial, Zheng denied intending to kill the victim.

He claimed he had lost control after being provoked verbally, and that he had grabbed the machete from a friend's car on impulse, insisting he had not meant to cause death.

Court rejected his defence

The judge rejected Zheng's account, making a finding that carrying a machete, breaking into a home in the early hours of the morning, and launching an attack on an unguarded victim, demonstrated clear intent to kill.

According to 8world, photographs of the injuries showed wounds on the victim's chest and limbs so deep that his bone was visible.

The judge also noted that a young child had been present in the room during the attack, putting the child's safety at risk as well.

Zheng was sentenced to 12 years in prison for attempted murder.

The case may still be appealed.

On Saturday, Jul. 11, voters in Malaysia’s southernmost state of Johor will vote for their representatives in the state assembly, the legislatures that create and pass laws within the individual states.

The Barisan Nasional-led state executive council was not due to call for a new election until the middle of 2027, but has decided to pull the trigger almost a year early, leading to speculation about the political impact of the move, both locally and nationally.

With Johor being Singaporeans' second favourite place on earth (okay, maybe third if you take Japan into account), and a major source of labour for Singaporean businesses, what do you need to know about the elections?

Who are the players, and how did we get here?

A starting gun, not a bellwether

On Jun. 1, Johor's Menteri Besar (MB, Chief Minister) Onn Hafiz Ghazi dissolved the state assembly, setting the stage for the Jul. 11 polls after a month of suggesting that BN would contest all 56 seats without cooperating with its federal governing partner, Pakatan Harapan.

This has led to speculation that the elections are a starter pistol of sorts for the next general election (GE16), which BN has indicated it would likely contest alone, similar to what happened in 2022.

In the 2022 state election BN won 40 out of the 56 seats in Johor, a two-thirds majority, leading to predictions of a BN surge.

However this was not replicated on a national scale, with BN winning only 30 out of 222 seats, including only nine of Johor’s 26 parliamentary seats.

So state popularity is no sure sign of federal success, and federal unpopularity appears to be no barrier to state success.

This unity

Nonetheless, there are concerns over what BN’s decision to contest Johor alone will mean to the unity government formed between longtime foes Pakatan Harapan and BN’s Umno after 2022.

For the three and a half years, the unity government has worked amenably together, even contesting state elections on a combined platform.

But with a new GE required by Feb 2027, BN is likely using Johor to test the waters for what a post unity government Malaysia looks like, while simultaneously assuring the country that the unity government remains stable.

For example, on Jun. 7, Onn Hafiz swore that no matter the result, Johor BN “will never work” with PH’s largest party, the Democratic Action Party (DAP).

But a week later Onn Hafiz had a convivial public event with DAP leader and Transport Minister Anthony Loke, where Loke highlighted Johor’s reliance on his ministry’s support for projects like the cross-border RTS as well as local light rail.

The longevity of the unity government will depend on various factions being able to compartmentalise their politics from their policy agenda, but in May PH leader and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim warned that a failure to work together would leave him little choice but to call snap elections.

Re-form reform

Anwar’s PH faces a challenging time, having run in 2022 on a platform of reform and alleviating cost of living concerns.

Cost of living efforts were set back by the energy crisis caused by the US-Israel War on Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, something Anwar’s government could not predict nor prevent.

But his coalition has seen the departure of prominent figures such as former MUDA chief and Johor MP Syed Saddiq, and Anwar’s former right hand man and Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli.

Rafizi has gone on to start his own party, Bersama, and there are fears that he could siphon votes away from Anwar's coalition, allowing otherwise winnable seats for PH to fall to BN.

These concerns are particularly concentrated in the Chinese community.

On Jul. 9, 134 Chinese groups issued a statement urging out of state Johoreans to return home to vote, saying “giving up won’t change anything.”

Catalyst

UMNO and its chief minister are uniquely dominant in Johor, where it has fallen out of favour almost everywhere else in Malaysia.

It surely hopes that a strong showing can be a catalyst for its national fortunes, in spite of how things turned out previously.

Onn Hafiz is a prominent, relatively young leader in a time where UMNO’s leadership skews older, and has pedigree in the state: his great grandfather Onn Jaafar was also a Johor MB, and founded UMNO there.

He has made a name for himself pursuing economic growth and improving living conditions, often touting the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JSSEZ) as a path to economic growth, even speaking in Singapore on occasion to promote it to business leaders here.

On social media, he can be seen conducting surprise inspections of immigration staff to ensure that the crossing is as easy as possible for his constituents working in Singapore.

Unxodus

Singapore has been a hot topic in the election, although thankfully for relatively benign reasons.

According to Malaysian media, Johor natives working in places like Singapore and Kuala Lumpur (KL) have expressed their excitement to return home and cast their ballots on Jul. 11, some calling voting a “responsibility.”

Calls for offshore Johoreans to return home to vote appear to have become a key message of the authorities.

Malaysia’s immigration officials said a special taskforce has been set up to deal with expected traffic and potential disruptions at entry points between Singapore and Malaysia on polling day, with “dedicated lanes” for voters, said Malaysia's Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

“We will accommodate anything that can help facilitate Johor voters’ participation in the democratic process on polling day, to the best of our ability.”

Hundreds of thousands of Johoreans work in Singapore, with some residing there full time and many more taking the Causeway daily.

Some parties have also made explicit attempts to reach Malaysians outside of Johor.

In its Jul. 3 manifesto, the ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition outlined its proposed initiatives to make Johor the “Shenzhen” of Southeast Asia.

Among other initiatives to achieve this goal, it proposed a programme aimed at bringing 20,000 Malaysian professionals currently in Singapore back home to Johor by 2031, through job and entrepreneurship incentives.

Rafizi’s Bersama, meanwhile, is reportedly looking to organise an online event targeted at Johoreans in Singapore as part of its election campaign.

Non-interference

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he does not intend to contact Prime Minister Lawrence Wong for help facilitating offshore Johoreans’ return on polling day.

Responding to a question in parliament on Jul. 7, he said, “Our relationship with Singapore is very good, and this helps develop both countries.”

“But I generally do not ask other countries to interfere in Malaysia’s affairs, including voting in our country,” Anwar added.

Say it softly: Landslide?

Also in the mix is the opposition Perikatan Nasional coalition which has largely campaigned under the banner of Malay unity, despite the growing schism between its two main parties, Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) and Bersatu.

The coalition is only contesting 33 out of 56 seats, and has urged supporters to vote for BN where they are not running.

Based on this strategy, they have been accused of not “seriously contesting in Johor."

BN is expected to do well again this Saturday, with the most pessimistic predictions seeing BN retain the government with a slightly reduced majority, and the most optimistic seeing a near total sweep, reducing PH to a handful of seats.

Three chihuahuas were rescued from a house fire in Udon Thani, Thailand, on Jul. 8.

The blaze is suspected to have been sparked by an electric bicycle, which later spread to a parked car and a portion of the single-storey house.

Dog rescue

Firefighters were dispatched to the scene following an emergency call at around 4pm, according to Khaosod.

Upon arrival, emergency personnel found an electric bicycle in flames outside the house.

The fire had also spread to a car parked in the foyer.

Firefighters sprayed the vehicle with water to prevent the flames from breaching the main house structure.

Photo from ข่าวอุดร ข่าวโฮมเคเบิ้ล/Facebook

During the fire-fighting operation, neighbours informed the team that three dogs were trapped inside.

After taking 30 minutes to extinguish the fire, firefighters worked to ventilate and clear the property before starting the search for the dogs.

All three chihuahuas were found in a bedroom and safely carried out of the house one by one.

They were all visibly terrified and trembling after the ordeal.

Photo from ข่าวอุดร ข่าวโฮมเคเบิ้ล/Facebook

Loud bangs heard before fire

The homeowner was reportedly away from home working in another province at the time of the fire, leaving no one inside the house.

Neighbours recalled hearing loud bangs similar to firecrackers before smoke and flames erupted from the property.

They reportedly tried to put out the fire with a garden house before alerting other neighbours and calling emergency services.

The electric bicycle was completely destroyed, while the front half of the car sustained severe damage.

An air-conditioner compressor and a section of the house were also damaged.

Investigations into the exact cause of the fire are ongoing.

A 46-year-old man was sentenced to 15 months' jail after he physically assaulted his 11-year-old daughter.

He even pressed a karambit knife to her neck because she overslept and missed school.

The man faced 14 charges and pleaded guilty to four of them, including charges for criminal intimidation, voluntarily causing, and charges under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act, Shin Min Daily News reported.

The remaining charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

He cannot be identified as a gag order was imposed to protect the victim.

Overslept

Between September 2025 and October 2025, the accused’s daughter reportedly missed school as she overslept and woke up at about noon.

When he discovered that she did not attend school, he became angry and shouted at her.

He proceeded to grab his daughter by her hair and drag her out of her room.

The accused then slapped her once on her right cheek, and then used a rattan cane measuring about 47cm long to strike her legs about three to five times.

He went back to his room to retrieve a karambit knife and pressed its unsheathed blade on his daughter’s neck for about a minute.

He continued to scold her for a while before telling her to return to her room.

As she returned to her room, the accused followed her in and continued shouting.

He also struck her elbow with his knee.

His daughter did not seek medical attention.

Report

The incident came to light when the accused’s elder daughter called the police over another matter.

The nature of that matter was not disclosed.

During investigations, the police uncovered the younger daughter’s ordeal.

A Singaporean trainee surgeon has pleaded guilty in Australia to secretly filming hundreds of female colleagues while they used toilets and showers in three major Melbourne hospitals.

According to The Straits Times, on Jul. 9, Ryan Cho, 28, pleaded guilty to all 13 charges, including stalking, producing an intimate image, and installing an optical surveillance device.

Cho committed the crimes at the Austin Hospital, Royal Melbourne Hospital and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre between 2021 and 2025 after graduating from Monash University.

Cho initially faced more than 900 charges, but Australian prosecutors and defence lawyers agreed to combine them into 13 charges, according to ST.

After the 30-minute hearing on Jul. 9, Cho was released on bail.

Australian Magistrate Michelle Mykytowycz also acknowledged the victims who attended the session both in-person and online.

Crimes involved production of thousands of intimate images

Cho's crimes involved the production of thousands of intimate images and videos of several hundred victims.

According to ABC News, he also secretly filmed a former housemate.

Mothership previously reported that Cho was arrested in 2025 after one of his cameras was discovered in a restricted staff toilet at the Austin Hospital.

He was found with 4,500 intimate videos of at least 460 alleged victims.

One of the laptop hard drives seized from Cho contained 10,374 videos and images.

Free on strict bail conditions

According to ABC News, Cho has been on bail for around a year and had been living with his parents, who put up an A$50,000 (S$44,840) surety.

He has been required to complete compulsory medical treatment and is banned from attending hospitals unless in an emergency.

According to ST, Cho's parents had previously told the court that one or both of them would live in Melbourne for the duration of the proceedings to support their son and his compliance with bail conditions.

Cho's strict bail conditions include reporting to police three times a week, no contact with any witnesses or potential witnesses, and not having access to photographic or video devices outside of his home.

The court heard that he had already surrendered his passport.

ST reported that his next court appearance is on Nov. 23 and marks the start of a three-day pre-sentence hearing in Melbourne's County Court, where he is expected to hear his victims' impact statements.

Around 100 victims, mostly women, have reportedly lodged human rights complaints against the three hospitals where Cho worked on the grounds of sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace.

The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has announced plans to develop new homes at Gillman Barracks and Sunset Way.

To redevelop the sites sensitively, HDB commissioned studies and engaged stakeholders, including nature and heritage groups, to identify measures to mitigate the impacts of development.

The studies, published on Jul. 10, will guide the conceptual plans for the two housing developments before detailed planning begins.

Gillman Barracks will be redeveloped into a residential estate comprising both public and private homes, while the Sunset Way site in Clementi will be developed for public housing.

In response to Mothership's queries, HDB said that the number of dwelling units will take into account the land size, the study findings, and public feedback. More details on the plans for the sites will be shared when ready.

Environmental and heritage studies conducted

Gillman Barracks was built in 1935 as a British military garrison to house servicemen and their families.

It has served many purposes, including housing the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) battalions and acting as the site for St Andrew's Junior College and the Pasir Panjang Vocational Institute.

Currently, offices, arts, and food and beverage establishments occupy the brownfield site.

To prepare for the redevelopment of Gillman Barracks, HDB commissioned environmental and heritage studies covering a 47-hectare site.

This comprised an approximately 40-hectare development area bounded by Depot Road, Alexandra Road, Telok Blangah Road/West Coast Highway and Telok Blangah Street 31 as well as a seven-hectare green area north of Telok Blangah Heights.

What are the Gillman Barracks buildings that will be retained?

The heritage study assessed all 86 buildings across seven clusters, evaluating each for its historical, architectural and technological, social and communal, and contextual value.

All four buildings assessed to be of "Exceptional" heritage significance will be retained.

These are Blk 3 within the Preston Road School Cluster, and 6, 9 and 22 Lock Road in the Lock Road cluster.

21 of the 27 buildings rated "High" significance will also be retained, while the remaining six will make way for essential infrastructure such as roads.

4 clusters to be largely retained

HDB also plans to largely retain four historically and architecturally significant clusters: Preston Road Housing Cluster, Preston Road School Cluster, Lock Road Cluster, and Malan Road Cluster.

The Preston Road Housing Cluster comprises 16 garrison-style semi-detached houses built between 1935 and 1939 and used to house military personnel and former Alexandra School staff.

The school was the first school constructed in the area to serve the British army community.

The Lock Road Cluster has one of the last remaining sections of original 1935 barracks built for British Infantry regiments.

The Malan Road Cluster's building served utility and support functions, including workshops, garages, stores and medical facilities.

Based on the studies and input from stakeholders, HDB's conceptual plan proposes that the former barrack buildings along Lock Road and Malan Road can be repurposed to provide commercial offerings and amenities.

How does HDB plan to reduce biodiversity impacts?

The environmental study found Gillman Barracks contains a mix of forest, scrubland and urban vegetation.

Researchers identified 293 plant species and 178 fauna species, of which 22 plant species and 11 fauna species were of conservation significance and largely concentrated in the native-dominated secondary forest and streams.

Animals include the violet cuckoo and bamboo bat.

To minimise biodiversity impacts, HDB plans to safeguard ecological corridors with a minimum width of 30 metres, retain the forest stream and most of the native-dominated secondary forest within the green area, and implement an Environmental Monitoring and Management Plan (EMMP).

The EMMP includes a phased directional clearance plan allowing animals to move to adjacent greenery before site work

Together with a new green link planted with native species, the retained ecological corridors will create an approximately 8ha green area connecting Telok Blangah Hill Park with Berlayer Creek and Labrador Nature Reserve.

According to HDB, the continuous forest structure will help support bird movement and attract species such as the Straw-headed Bulbul.

Sunset Way site development

An environmental study was also carried out for the approximately 23-hectare Sunset Way greenfield site in Clementi (Maju Forest).

Based on its findings, HDB proposes retaining about 8 hectares of the study area to provide refuge for wildlife and facilitate fauna movement.

The retained area will include a natural freshwater stream and its surrounding riparian buffer, and the area around the Old Jurong Line where a nature trail is being studied.

Riparian refers to a strip of land directly bordering a body of water and has high biodiversity value.

Before construction begins, plants of conservation significance within the development area will be salvaged where feasible, and phased site clearance will also be implemented.

The future estate will also incorporate biophilic landscaping using native plants to maintain ecological connectivity.

Together with Clementi Neighbourhood Park, the future Clementi Nature Trail and Old Jurong Line Nature Trail, the green spaces are intended to provide residents with recreational options.

Public feedback

The full environmental and heritage study reports for both sites have been published on HDB InfoWEB.

Members of the public can submit feedback from Jul. 10 to Aug. 6, 2026.

HDB said feedback received during the consultation period will be considered as it refines development plans for both sites.

With retail investing brokerages taking off in numbers, a layperson like me can now dabble in buying a share of the world’s largest companies right from the palm of my hands.

I must admit, however, I’m neither a high-volume trader nor a professional.

I just read up about companies or industries I’m interested in and invest in them whenever I feel my wallet allows for it.

What I look out for as a casual investor

When choosing brokerages, the differentiation to a casual investor like me comes down to things like fees and commissions and user-friendliness.

One such broker is uSMART, a Hong Kong-founded brokerage which offers lifetime zero commissions on U.S. stocks.

This brokerage has a growing presence in Singapore, having opened their second physical branch in Orchard in October 2025, and is also celebrating their eighth anniversary this year.

Their offer was enough to get me curious about them so here’s what I found about the brokerage.

Getting started

Setting up an account was straightforward. You download the app, enter your email or phone number and it asks for permission to retrieve your personal details via SingPass.

There are quite a few questions to answer about your source of income, net wealth, investment experience and goals, but this isn’t a bad thing to me.

They’re standard and also make me trust the broker more, knowing that they pay attention to such background checks.

There are three account types to choose from — Trader, Standard and Intel — and each has its own fee structure and feature access.

A minimum net asset value requirement of more than S$2,000 is required to be eligible for the Intel account.

The Intel account is also subject to slightly higher platform fees, but account holders get access to uSMART’s investment tools, such as unlimited access to pattern insights and real-time daily hot picks.

I went with the Standard account to cater to my casual trading needs.

On the uSmart Standard account, I can access some of the features mentioned above, but usage is limited.

For example, while users of the Intel account have unlimited access to the “Pattern Insights” feature, as a Standard account user, I only have 10 uses per day.

Within a day, my account was opened. I even got a message from one of uSmart’s relationship managers the next day with information on how I could start trading.

Using the app

Once your account is up, the app takes you to the trading page where a watchlist of various stocks and ETFs has already been compiled, which I thought would be helpful for new investors.

I found the trading interface simple enough to use while still including information that I believe both novice and advanced traders might find useful.

One interesting feature is the community section, which lets users vote ‘up’ or ‘down’ on stocks, crowdsourcing user sentiments.

Crowd sentiment is hardly the best way to pick investments, but I thought it was interesting to get an idea of how people are thinking about the different stocks.

I also found that the video guides available on the app are useful for getting acquainted with trading topics, such as on margin accounts and scam prevention.

Higher interest rate promotion on wealth management fund

Aside from trading, uSMART also offers wealth management products that may help grow your capital with managed risk.

To be eligible for the higher interest rate, new joiners will have to make a net investment of between S$2,000 and S$8,000 during the promotion period on the Maybank Money Market Fund.

According to uSMART, the higher interest rate is supported by a top-up from uSMART if the fund's actual return falls short.

This promotion is also available to existing uSMART users who have not previously invested in uSMART's wealth management funds.

New joiners who deposit S$5,000 and above will also receive a portable fan as a welcome gift, while stocks last.

FX, crypto and commodities, all-in-one app

Besides the stocks and wealth management funds, uSMART also offers access to a range of markets, from US to Hong Kong and Japan.

I also found the option to trade foreign exchange, cryptocurrency, options and commodities.

Quite the all-in-one app, I would say.

Zero commission

Overall, I found uSMART’s trading platform intuitive and simple but also filled with enough tools to help sophisticated investors make the right call.

Those who are looking to take fewer risks can also put their money into wealth management products to grow their capital.

Apart from that, the idea of lifetime zero commission appeals to me as a casual investor. Why spend on commission fees and take home less?

While there are platform fees, they are fixed at US$0.88 (about S$1.13) per order, which makes costs predictable.

So if you’re looking for a brokerage to switch to or start your investing journey, consider giving uSMART a go.

The fact that they now have two physical branches — one at Robinson Road and one at Orchard — also means there is a point of contact with the brokerage should you ever need help with your account or investments.

Download the app, available on iOS and Android, or visit their website to open an account now.

The writer of this sponsored article is thinking about SpaceX stocks.

A valet attendant at KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) along Bukit Timah Road has been accused of repeatedly soliciting tips from a driver, who said he did not have any cash.

"Aggressively solicited" for a tip

In an anonymous post on the Facebook group Complaint Singapore, the individual claimed that during a recent visit to the hospital, he was "aggressively solicited" for a tip by a valet attendant.

According to the post, the attendant had asked him for a tip three times.

Even after the driver told the attendant that he did not have any cash on hand, the attendant allegedly continued to persist in asking for money.

"This is not merely an awkward interaction; it is unprofessional, coercive, and unacceptable," the individual wrote in the post.

A quick check on KKH's website showed that its valet parking service is free for patients and visitors.

Users are only required to pay the prevailing parking charges.

The parking charges listed on KKH's website are as follows:

Tipping is entirely discretionary: KKH

In response to Mothership's queries, the director of Operational Support Services at KKH, Michael Ng, said the hospital was aware of the incident involving its valet service.

"We understand that a recent experience with our valet service has fallen short of the standards we aim to provide, and we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused," he said.

Ng added that the valet service is provided as a convenience for patients and visitors, with standard car park charges applicable.

He also stressed that tipping is entirely discretionary and that valet attendants are prohibited from soliciting tips.

"We take all feedback seriously and have promptly reinforced service guidelines with the service provider to reiterate clear instructions to all staff," he said.

"KKH is committed to service excellence, ensuring that every interaction reflects the care and professionalism the hospital is known for."