A 24-year-old Chinese mukbang influencer has died following cardiac arrest reportedly linked to low potassium levels.

Ganfan Yingying, whose real name was Chen Ziyi, reportedly died on Aug. 17.

According to Global Times, Chen's parents announced the news on Sep. 4.

Chen, who had more than 1 million followers, had last posted on Aug. 14, telling viewers that overeating had caused her potassium levels to drop and landed her in the hospital.

Low potassium levels

According to Chen, her blood potassium level had fallen as low as 2.3 due to her mukbang activities as well as her long-term habit of inducing vomiting, Global Times reported.

She reminded viewers that although earning money is important, prioritising one’s health should always come first.

This was not the first time she had been hospitalised for the same reason.

Chen reportedly said that doing livestream sales while eating can be physically demanding, noting that she once had to eat 60 to 70 preserved eggs.

She said mukbangers often face pressure to eat more to boost sales, even when their health cannot withstand the strain.

Inducing vomiting and using laxatives

Chai Qichen, a doctor from the Department of General Practice at Zhejiang Hospital, told the Global Times that binge eating itself does not directly cause severe potassium loss.

Rather, the main risks involve inducing vomiting and using laxatives.

Some mukbangers eat large amounts on camera, then vomit or take laxatives off camera to maintain their figures.

Because gastric and intestinal fluids contain much higher potassium levels than blood, repeated vomiting or diarrhoea can cause significant potassium loss and progressively lower blood potassium levels, Chai said.

Singaporean actress Chen Xiuhuan narrowly avoided signing up for a new personal training package with True Fitness, just days before the gym chain's sudden closure.

True Fitness and True Yoga announced on Sep. 10 that all outlets would cease operations "with immediate effect", citing an inability to continue operating due to debt.

Booked a class the day before

Chen took to Instagram on Sep. 11 to share her reaction to the closure.

She said she had booked a workout session the day before, only to open the True Fitness app the next morning to find that all outlets had ceased operations.

Chen, who has been a member since 2017, said she used to work out at the gym almost three times a week. She described the workouts, classes, familiar faces and trainers as having become "such a regular part of my life".

Calling the sudden end "honestly heartbreaking", Chen wrote that she was left wondering "where do I go from here" after years of having a regular workout routine there.

"I know I’ll eventually find somewhere else… but right now, I’m just sad and disappointed," she wrote on her Instagram post.

Nearly signed up for a new PT package

Speaking to Zaobao, Chen revealed she had just completed a set of 24 personal training (PT) sessions, which require additional payment on top of membership fees.

She said she had been planning to renew her PT package, but held off as her daughter had returned from overseas and she spent two weeks with her instead. As a result, she had not yet paid for a new package when the closure was announced.

Chen also shared that she joined True Fitness in 2017 as a lifetime member.

According to a Straits Times report, two individuals who bought lifetime packages in the 2010s paid around S$8,000 to S$9,000. There's also a S$100 annual fee to maintain the membership.

On the prospect of a refund, Chen said that even if the company goes through liquidation, remaining assets are usually prioritised for staff salaries and debt repayment first, with member refunds typically last in line. She said getting any money back seemed "practically impossible".

She also pointed to the impact on gym staff who had suddenly lost their jobs, including some who had come from overseas to work in Singapore and had already started families here.

Chen noted that outlets that are about to close usually see a drop in business beforehand, but said the outlets she frequented were always crowded with full classes, which added to her shock at the closure.

When Vanessia Woo told her youngest child, Olivia, that she had stage three breast cancer, Olivia did not react much.

She was only five then, and maybe did not understand the severity of her mother's illness.

But it was also somewhat of a role reversal for mother and daughter.

Olivia was just five weeks old when Vanessia and her husband learnt their tiny baby had leukaemia.

A brave front

They had brought her to a hospital for a fever, Vanessia remembers. Just to get it checked out.

But two blood tests later, the doctors confirmed that about 90 per cent of the cells in her bone marrow were leukaemia cells.

"That broke us," Vanessia said. "We didn't know how to react."

She tried to be strong for her child. For the first few months of her life in 2018, Olivia underwent various tests, surgeries, and chemotherapy.

To check whether she was responding well to treatment, doctors had to do a lumbar puncture every few weeks. This involved inserting a very long needle into her lower back to draw samples of fluid surrounding her spinal cord.

As Olivia was so young at the time, the procedure had to be done without any anaesthetic.

It was "crazy" for Vanessia to imagine the pain her baby must have felt.

"Every single time that I had to send her for the test, I put up a brave front when I bring her into the room," the mother, now 48, said.

"And the minute I stepped out, I broke down, every single time."

Photos she shared of Olivia in hospital show her face bloated as a result of the treatment. She also developed a cyst on her bottom that required surgery to remove.

The sister's offer

There wasn't much Vanessia could do about the procedures, but she was determined to give her little girl as much care as she could.

Every day for six months, she would keep Olivia company in the isolation ward. During this time, she would breastfeed her despite the stress affecting her milk flow.

Vanessia did not carry the weight of caregiving alone.

Her husband, who she described as her biggest source of support at the time, was right next to her in the hospital with Olivia through the first 10 weeks or so, under paternity leave.

Her brother would also take over watching Olivia in the hospital when Vanessia needed a break.

The support she perhaps least expected came from her eldest child Kate.

At a young 10 years old, Kate was willing and eager to give her bone marrow to save her younger sister once the family found out that she was a perfect match for a stem cell transplant.

When Vanessia sat Kate down to explain the situation and that Olivia might need her bone marrow, Kate told her it was no problem.

"I'll do anything for Olivia," she said. "I'm not afraid of the pain."

Fortunately, the doctors said that the stem cells Kate had stored with Cordlife when she was born were sufficient to not require Kate's bone marrow for the procedure.

It was a great relief to Vanessia and her husband, who were deeply moved by Kate's gesture.

The stem cell transplant was a success, and Olivia was discharged from the hospital when she was eight months old.

Double diagnoses

Given that her cancer treatment happened all before she turned one, it's no surprise that Olivia, now eight, does not remember the experience. All she knows of it came from the stories her parents told her later.

Vanessia counts this as a blessing.

The rest of the family, however, remember it all too well, making it harder for Vanessia to tell them about her own diagnosis five years later in 2023.

When she learnt she had breast cancer, the first thing that came to her mind was, "What's going to happen to my children?"

"I wasn't even afraid for myself... I was just afraid that I won't be there for [my children]."

The double cancer diagnoses in the family hit her two older children hard.

Not only were they worried for their mother, they also missed spending time with her.

Her son Travis kept falling ill himself during those months when Olivia had leukaemia. Not yet three at the time, he was sad he was barely seeing his parents.

Vanessia did not want that to happen again.

Even as she felt tired from chemotherapy, she made sure to be present for her children.

"Sometimes I don't even want to get out of bed. I can't even calm down," she said. "But I know that they'll be worried...if they don't see me, so I have to still get up and come downstairs and have a meal with them, or chat with them."

After that, she would hide away in her bedroom. Her room became a safe haven for her, where she allowed only her husband to see her vulnerable side during this time.

Hiding the effects of the treatment was the toughest part, but as she did when Olivia was sick, Vanessia wanted to be strong for her family.

From caregiver to patient

But no one can be strong all the time.

Pivoting from caregiver to someone needing care, it took Vanessia some time to start leaning on others.

Thinking that the diagnosis would make her mother sad, she tried to avoid telling her. Her mother, however, had a gut feeling something was wrong.

When Vanessia did break the news, her mother surprised her by saying calmly, "Okay, let's get through this. Let's get you treated."

Her father was no different. He assured her that with today's medical advancements, there was nothing to worry about, and she would get through it.

"That, to me, was the biggest comfort that I got," Vanessia said.

Unlike Olivia who fell sick as a child, she was an adult who could not rely on others to always be there to help her.

Yet this did not mean she had to do everything on her own — she needed to seek help from others.

This included asking her parents to move in to help take care of her children during her treatment, and calling up her friends to ask if they would drive her to chemotherapy sessions.

"Initially, it was a bit uncomfortable because I'm always the one giving the care," she said. "But after a while, I learnt to appreciate it, and learnt that asking for help... There's no shame in that."

Taking it in stride

Looking back at her journey through cancer, Vanessia believes she made many brave decisions.

Knowing that she would start losing her hair, she went ahead and shaved it all off before it even began, about two weeks into treatment.

"I think to me, seeing my long hair fall out is more painful than me trying to just remove it... so that I don't see the hair fall," she said.

Her mother, husband, and son were right beside her in the salon, each of them taking turns to shave her head.

"I felt very confident in being bald," she said. "I never try to hide it."

Her hair was not the only, nor the hardest, thing she had to remove.

Although her cancer had only spread to her left breast at the time, Vanessia decided to remove both her breasts as a preventive measure.

A double mastectomy would make the breast reconstruction procedure afterwards more painful, but she was determined to make sure she stayed healthy.

"Thinking back, if you ask me again, I think I'll still do it," she said. "It makes me proud of myself for being able to to make that decision and move on."

Now, about two years later, she spoke to us comfortably in her home, while enjoying an afternoon snack with Olivia and her mother.

Living her fullest life

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, as Olivia shares her mother's strong will and positive attitude.

One of the chemotherapy drugs Olivia received caused an irreversible nerve damage, leaving her with a foot drop.

She has no control over her left ankle and cannot lift that foot. To help her walk more easily, she wears a brace known as an ankle-foot orthosis when she goes out.

It's a side effect she will have to live with, but it has not stopped her from doing things that other children can do — running, cycling, swimming.

In fact, we had moved our interview forward slightly so that Olivia could go to swimming class afterwards.

Sitting beside her mother as we chatted, Olivia was a bundle of energy.

She laughed and kicked her legs around as she talked about her plan to dance in the streets of South Korea on an upcoming trip arranged by the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Looking fondly at her daughter, Vanessia said she is most proud of Olivia's can-do spirit.

"Never once was she affected by her physical appearance... She's always willing to try everything."

There would still be physiotherapy exercises Olivia did not want to do, but all it takes is a little explanation from her mother that they would help to strengthen her legs, and she would readily agree.

"She knows what needs to be done, and she will do it," Vanessia said.

The tough times will pass

On Aug. 29, both mother and daughter walked the runway together at Fashion for Cancer, an annual charity fashion show that raises funds for cancer research and patient support.

Featuring cancer patients and survivors as models, the initiative also hopes to bring hope and strength to others going through the journey.

But before that, back at home, Vanessia had to pause to think about what encouragement she would give to someone in her position.

"No words can describe what a parent has to go through when their child is sick," she said.

"I can't tell them to stay positive when things are looking bad... but what I can tell them that is that the tough times will pass.

You will see the light at the end of the tunnel. Just hang on... You'll get through it."

To others going through cancer, Olivia had simple words of comfort: "Don’t worry, you’ll be fine."

Almost the same thing she told her mother, with a pat on the back, when she was going through cancer.

Olivia may not remember her own experience, but Vanessia never lets her forget the special bond they have, as fighters, as survivors.

It's good to have loved ones you can rely on, the young girl added.

@mothershipsg The Tan family faced not 1, but 2 cancer diagnoses – mum and younger daughter – and a difficult choice: whether to use one child’s bone marrow to save another. Through it all, their unconditional love and unwavering support carried them through. Today, both mother and daughter are cancer survivors, proudly walking the runway together at the 2026 Fashion for Cancer event❤️ #mothershiporiginals ♬ original sound - Mothership

The 47-year-old female aide who was caught in a sex scandal with a Thai abbot was reportedly a mother of three who had previously gone bankrupt.

She reportedly became rich just a few years after her discharge from bankruptcy, despite not having a stable job.

According to Bangkok Post, Punyavee Rungrueang and the monk, 66-year-old Phra Vajirayan, were accused of embezzling 100 million baht (S$3.8 million) from Wat Phutthaisawan, an ancient royal monastery in Ayutthaya's Muang district.

The pair has since been arrested.

Attended top university

According to Thai media Amarin TV, Punyavee attended a top university in the country 30 years ago.

She is a single mother and reportedly ran a business selling offerings for worship and making vows, which is believed to have been done with special permission from the abbot.

She was previously declared bankrupt in 2019 following a breakdown of her marriage and was discharged in 2022.

Just a few years after her discharge, authorities found she owned two houses worth about 4 million baht (S$153,320), along with a significant amount of cash and valuables.

This was despite her not having a stable job or business, police reportedly indicated.

A car driver left the scene after allegedly self-skidding along Marsiling Road towards Marsiling Drive in the wee hours of Sep. 11.

Police confirmed with Mothership that they were alerted to the accident at about 3:15am that day.

Efforts to trace the driver are underway, police said.

Police investigations are ongoing.

Witnesses saw driver leaving

According to a Mothership reader who witnessed the accident, the driver appeared drunk at the time of the incident.

The reader, who went down to see if the driver needed help, apparently heard the driver asking witnesses not to report to the police.

He was also apparently heard saying he would "go MIA" and would tell authorities he was "sick and giddy" that night.

He then allegedly ran off after someone alerted the police.

A TikTok user filmed the aftermath of the accident, capturing the moment a pick-up crane truck arrived to remove the vehicle.

DBS chief executive Tan Su Shan has ruled out entering politics, while calling for more talent from both the public and private sectors to raise the quality of policy debate in Singapore.

Tan, 57, made the comment when asked if she would consider standing in the next General Election, during a fireside chat organised by the Singapore Press Club on Sep. 11, as reported by Lianhe Zaobao.

Asked about her political ambitions, Tan responded with a laugh: "I'm too old".

NMP from 2012 to 2014

Tan was previously a member of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP), and resigned from the party before being appointed a Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) from 2012 to 2014.

She said her time as an NMP gave her a deeper understanding of Singapore's policy-making process, and showed her how parliamentary debate could help drive policy change.

According to Zaobao, Tan recalled that during her NMP term, no one ever asked her to hold back a question or stop pursuing an issue. She said: "If you disagree with something, raise it. If you're wrong, we'll push back. If you're right, we'll listen. But raise it anyway."

Tan's remarks followed a recent parliamentary debate on ministerial salaries, in which Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said he wanted to attract more private sector candidates into government, reported The Business Times.

PM Wong had cited leaders of major Singapore-listed companies in sectors like banking, telecommunications, aviation and engineering as examples of the talent pool the government is competing with.

He said Singapore "cannot pretend that the opportunity cost does not exist", though he emphasised that the government is not trying to match private sector pay, given that such professionals' pay already exceeds that of starting-grade ministers.

Tan, who became DBS CEO last year, received total compensation of S$9.64 million for 2025, covering her first nine months as CEO and her earlier period as deputy CEO, Business Times reported.

Call for more diverse talent in policy debate

Tan said Singapore needs to keep improving the quality of debate, which requires bringing in the right people with relevant industry experience from both the public and private sectors, according to Zaobao.

"I would like to see healthy debate that's not personal but more around policy, around judgement, around lending, and if that means attracting the best talent in Singapore to get in, why not?" she said, as reported by Business Times.

She added that private sector professionals may approach decisions on business and growth differently from those in the public sector, which she said is important for keeping Singapore relevant.

"We need to fail to learn and move on"

According to BT, she added that staying ahead also means being willing to take risks and accept failure. "God forbid Singapore fail at anything, right? We're always the best student," she said. "But heck, in this world, we need to fail to learn and move on."

Zaobao reported that Tan cited her own push, while serving as an NMP, for a policy to allow women to freeze their eggs, as an example of how individual lawmakers can effect change. The policy was not passed at the time but was eventually approved in 2023.

"So I think if everyone can play their small part in pushing policy in a direction that benefits Singapore, Parliament can function more effectively," she said.

A 46-year-old man outraged the modesty of a 73-year-old female colleague under the guise of giving her a massage.

Singapore Chinese-language media Lianhe Zaobao (Zaobao) reported that the man, a security guard at the time of the incident, was sentenced to 10 months' imprisonment on Sep. 11.

According to Zaobao, the incident took place in July 2025, when the two were on the same morning shift.

Around 11am, the man decided to commit the act.

When the victim was seated, the man approached her and began to massage her back, moving down to her lower body.

The victim was terrified and outraged, and was too stunned to act.

The man then began to grope her chest on the left side and hug her, even as she tried to push his hands away.

He stopped when a vehicle arrived at the gate, requiring him to leave the guardhouse.

The woman made a police report about two weeks later. The incident was captured on CCTV footage.

The prosecution pointed out that he had premeditated the act, using the guise of a massage.

For that reason, it asked for 10 to 12 months' jail.

He pleaded guilty to one of two charges of assault and outrage of modesty. The other charge was considered by the judge during sentencing.

A 60-year-old Singaporean woman was among the victims who fell prey to a suspected pyramid scheme in China, which has seen 52 Singaporeans arrested to date.

The woman, known only by her surname Wu, said she lost S$140,000 after making an investment in an apartment complex in Fangchenggang, another city in Guangxi.

According to Shin Min Daily News, she also invested S$50,000 when she was first roped into the scheme due to her confidence in the city.

The total amount she lost is now unable to be recovered, she said.

How she became involved

Wu, a secretary, first came across what she knew as the "Nanning Project" after being told about it by a colleague.

She said the operators of the scheme created the illusion of a "secret project" with great potential.

They would interview those interested in joining, but ask them to keep a low profile.

Participants were also asked about their profession and family background, as well as whether they had friends who were keen to join.

Each person was instructed not to tell anyone about the project.

In 2019, Wu was invited to the Chinese city for an "inspection tour", where she attended classes and visited ongoing project sites.

As Nanning's cleanliness, high-end quality and portrayal as a "garden city" interested her, she decided to make a S$50,000 investment in the project.

"I initially went with the mindset of 'just checking it out',' but later I thought it looked good and it wouldn't hurt to invest," she told Shin Min.

According to her, she was given the option of investing S$30,000 or S$50,000, but went with the latter as it allowed her to buy property there.

During a visit to a real estate project site, she paid about S$140,000 in full to purchase an apartment unit.

Considering that the price was lower than that of a HDB flat in Singapore, and that Nanning was not far from home, she thought of buying the unit for short stays after she retires.

Roped others in

Wu added that as she firmly believed in the project's high returns, she became an "upline" participant, or a participant on the higher tier of the pyramid scheme.

She was responsible for the food and lodging of "downline" participants and would receive a commission if she was able to recruit others.

Wu successfully roped a friend into the scheme, believing that it would help her situation as the latter did not have a high income.

"I never expected it to be a scam, and I really regret it!" she said.

Those above her in the pyramid, or "higher upline", would organise groups to Nanning every month and could sign up to bring "potential downlines" along.

There was a proper operating procedure, Wu said.

Participants on these trips would hand their passports to those in charge, who would then help to open local bank accounts and obtain local phone numbers.

Realised something was wrong

Wu had initially planned to visit Nanning again in 2020 to inspect the progress of the project, but was prevented by the pandemic.

In the meantime, she was unable to contact the real estate agent that she had worked with.

She soon realised something was amiss and stopped recruiting people.

Later, she found out that the project had changed developers and came to believe that her money was gone.

Another victim borrowed S$30,000 from relatives

Another victim told Shin Min that she borrowed S$30,000 from overseas relatives to invest in the scheme.

The 48-year-old said she came across the project while travelling to Nanning with friends in 2019, and saw that it was promoted under the government's name.

As a friend had already purchased property there, she was tempted and thought that the city had high development potential for her to run a small business.

However, the friend told her that she would need to join the project before being able to do business in the city.

"I really believed it at the time. After returning to Singapore, I couldn’t sleep at night and kept thinking about the Nanning project," the woman said.

As she only had S$8,000 in her bank, she borrowed the remaining sum from relatives abroad without telling her family.

She eventually raised S$30,000 and remitted the money to China.

Later, she travelled to Nanning with a friend and a "higher upline" to look at properties, but grew suspicious when the latter acted dubiously during an unexpected police investigation.

Upon her return to Singapore, the victim cut off contact with friends and other individuals involved in the scheme and changed her number.

She has not dared to tell her family about the incident to date out of guilt.

"Eating and drinking while being brainwashed"

Singaporean life coach Xie Mingyao, 50, said he was invited to give a lecture in Nanning in 2017, but realised it was a scam after arriving.

He had been invited by a friend whom he met through his business, he told Shin Min, and brought a team of eight with him.

In the Chinese city, he saw apartments, restaurants and entertainment venues run by Singaporeans.

"The process involved eating and drinking while being brainwashed," Xie said.

He grew suspicious after listening to a series of sharing sessions about investments, and asked a friend about the details of the lecture, but was informed that no lectures were being held.

According to Xie, a few people were attracted by the project, but others saw through the scam.

The group eventually did not follow through with the itinerary, and spent the rest of their trip doing actual sight-seeing.

Ng Lye Poh, the mother of the founders of Sheng Siong, passed away on Sep. 5 at the age of 91.

Lim Hock Leng, one of her sons and the managing director of Sheng Siong, was seen in a 7-minute TikTok on Sep. 8 showing the number of flower wreaths received in the funeral hall.

In the video, Lim expressed his gratitude for those who sent their condolences, saying, "My mother's karmic rewards are too great... she is Singapore's national treasure."

@paibupai47 属于她的花海#花海 ♬ 原声 - 木馨在新加坡

Shocked by sheer number of wreaths

In video, Lim was seen going through all the flower wreaths at the funeral hall.

He remarked: "Who else could have had such a great sea of flowers?"

He repeated himself several times through the course of the video.

He added that he was truly "shocked".

Ng was also referred to as the "Sheng Siong Ah Ma".

Her obituary indicated that she leaves behind nearly 100 family members, including grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Requested not to have wreaths sent to wake

Lim also thanked the staff for arranging the wreaths beautifully, and quipped that they would not be able to finish filming every wreath in the hall.

When asked how many wreaths there were in the hall, Lim said an assistant had informed him that they had received more than 960 of them.

He emphasised that they had already requested in the obituary for flower wreaths to not be sent to the wake, and estimated that if they had not done so, they could have ended up with more than 2,000 wreaths.

A large bouquet of white and pink flowers stood in front of Ng's casket, arranged in the shape of a heart.

According to Lim, they received wreaths from various well-wishers.

These included Members of Parliament (MPs), ministers, Mediacorp, various religious temples and organisations, and Qihua Primary School, the school that the Lim brothers attended.

The Lim brothers have shared how their mother was a huge influence on them and their business.

Veteran Hong Kong actor Simon Lui has died aged 62, Hong Kong media reported.

Lui was recognised for his roles in horror movies since the 1990s.

His wife, Chinese streaming host Ma Li, confirmed the news of his passing.

Media reports indicated he had passed away on Sep. 7, as a result of a cancer relapse following treatment.

He was in Guangzhou, China at the time.

Tributes and condolences have poured in.

He was known as the “King of Ghosts” through his work in the "Troublesome Night" ("陰陽路") series, a comedy horror anthology film series that spanned up to 20 low-budget movies released mainly between 1997 and 2003.

He starred in 13 of them.

He had also contributed as a screenwriter on select projects.

Lui kept a low profile in recent years and was based in Guangzhou.

He is survived by his wife, who is 21 years his junior, and son.

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