A woman is suing Singapore Airlines (SIA) after she allegedly swallowed a wooden satay stick while consuming her in-flight meal.

Briohny Smyth, 44, was flying business class from Singapore to Los Angeles on Jul. 28, 2024, when the incident happened.

Lodged in throat

According to a legal complaint filed by her lawyer, she was served chicken satay on a wooden skewer, The Independent reported.

A wooden fragment from the skewer was lodged in her throat, it was reported.

This resulted in "immediate pain, choking sensations, coughing, respiratory distress, and physical injury".

3.8cm stick

She managed to cough up the wooden splinter that measured 1.5 inches (3.8cm), her complaint stated.

The process of expelling the foreign object was described as a "very difficult moment" on the flight.

The complaint further alleged that she experienced "persistent throat discomfort, vocal fatigue, raspiness, tightness, and pain with prolonged speaking and singing".

She eventually consulted an otolaryngologist who found scarring and trauma to her vocal cords, the complaint stated.

The complaint also stated that she is seeking damages for past and future medical bills, past and future loss of earnings and earning capacity, emotional distress and more.

Yoga teacher, former child star

Smyth was described as a "professional singer, performer, wellness educator, and public speaker whose livelihood substantially depends upon the integrity and performance of her voice" in her complaint.

Her Instagram account says that she is a yoga teacher and communicates with people as part of her work as an instructor.

She teaches yoga in Los Angeles now, The Independent also reported.

According to Thai media, Smyth was a former child pop star who is recognised in Thailand after she had a platinum album at the age of 13.

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Singaporean YouTuber and content creator JianHao Tan and his wife are among the contestants on South Korean television network ENA's new variety competition, "X The League (XTL)".

What is XTL?

The series premiered on ENA and Netflix Korea on Aug. 2, and is billed as the world's first global live commerce championship.

It sees influencers from nine countries competing in live-selling challenges for a grand prize of US$500,000 (around S$640,657).

Each team's performance on the reality show will be judged based on audience engagement and sales results.

A total of eight teams are taking part in the competition, representing Singapore-Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, China, and the United States.

Tan captains the Singapore-Malaysia team, which also comprises his wife, content creator Debbie Soon, and Malaysian creators Elle Onni and Sonia Chang.

According to an earlier report by The Straits Times, the Singapore-Malaysia team is backed by global creator management and licensing company Gushcloud International, which oversees its live-selling strategy, cross-border creator collaborations and overall competitive execution throughout the tournament.

XTL is hosted by Thai rapper-singer BamBam, who is also a member of the K-Pop boy band Got7, alongside Korean-American singer and actress Tiffany Young from the K-Pop girl group Girls' Generation.

"Most intense things I've ever been through": Tan

Following the show's release, both Tan and Soon took to Instagram to share their experiences.

"When we were first invited to join X The League, the world’s first live sellers competition, I was honestly so nervous and didn’t want to go. But with [Tan's} encouragement (and a little push ), I did it... and I have no regrets," Soon wrote.

She also gave a shout-out to her Malaysian teammates, calling them "the best" and saying they made the journey "so much more meaningful".

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Tan, on the other hand, described the competition as "without a doubt, one of the most intense things [he's] ever been through".

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A total of 4,500 youths, aged 12 to 18, from low-income families will receive a coupon to redeem a bottle of Milo Chocolate Malt at 44 selected Cheers outlets from Jul. 31 to Aug. 31.

Each bottle costs S$2.

Eligible youths are identified by self-help groups, Chinese Development Assistance Council, Eurasian Association, Singapore Indian Development Association, and Yayasan Mendaki.

Cheers is a wholly-owned subsidiary and the convenience store arm of FairPrice, which operates under the FairPrice Group in Singapore.

Helping vulnerable groups

In a press release on Jul. 30, FairPrice Group said the move builds on FairPrice Foundation’s (FPF) commitment to bridge the nutrition gap for vulnerable groups in Singapore.

This initiative addresses the nutritional needs of youths and provides a convenient way to give them extra protein.

It forms part of FairPrice Foundation's ongoing commitment to uplift communities through nutrition and access to daily essentials, the release added.

Jean Khong, general manager of FairPrice Foundation, said: "Through this protein drink distribution, we hope to give youths a healthy energy boost to take on the day.”

Pakkirisamy Inbasri, a secondary one student, said having a healthy breakfast and “a quick protein drink before class” helps her stay “energised and focused during lessons”.

“I’m very grateful for this support to help me keep up with my new routine.” Pakkirisamy added.

Chua Jing Yi, another secondary one student, said CCA training would get “pretty intense”.

“Having Cheers near my place where I can just grab a free protein drink right after is super convenient,” Chua added.

Cheers Breakfast Club returning

Youths can also look forward to the return of the Cheers Breakfast Club, which distributed more than 12,000 breakfast bundles to Primary 6 students ahead of their Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) in 2024 and 2025.

It will return for its third year in September 2026 to provide breakfast bundles to primary six students ahead of their PSLE.

A 31-year-old Singaporean woman was sentenced to five months’ jail after physically abusing a three-year-old boy.

She pleaded guilty to one charge under the Children and Young Persons Act and was sentenced on Jul. 27, CNA reported.

The incident locations were not disclosed as a gag order was imposed to protect the victim.

The woman's identity will also not be revealed.

Pre-nursery

The boy was a pre-nursery student in the preschool.

He was placed under the care of the woman, who was a teacher.

On Sep. 12, 2025, at about 10:30am, the boy was reportedly sitting on the floor outside his classroom crying.

Another teacher informed the woman of the incident, and she walked out of the classroom.

In charge sheets seen by Mothership, at about 10:36am, the woman proceeded to fling the boy to the ground.

The crying boy then slapped her thigh.

The woman slapped his hand in response.

This commotion reportedly drew the attention of other teachers, and the woman closed the classroom door.

She scolded the boy and also slapped his face twice, causing him to hit his head onto a cupboard beside him.

Intervention

When the school principal approached the classroom, she witnessed the slaps and intervened, and carried the boy out.

The school principal then informed the boy’s mother of the incident.

When the boy’s mother questioned him, he initially denied the woman’s actions.

However, he later said the woman had told him not to tell his parents about it.

The boy's mother proceeded to lodge a police report.

Denial

When interviewed by police, the woman denied the allegations even after being shown surveillance footage of her slapping the boy.

She claimed it was merely a nudge to the side of his head.

The prosecution sought a minimum of eight months’ jail for the woman.

They argued that she violated the trust placed in teachers to care for children.

They further argued that the boy did not move away from the woman even after being physically abused multiple times, and he could only scream and cry.

The prosecution also noted that the woman had compensated the boy's family S$15,000.

For ill-treating a child, the woman could have faced a jail term of up to eight years, a fine of up to S$8,000, or both.

The girlfriend of former "Singapore Idol" contestant and online personality Steven Lim, who goes by the online pseudonym of Lihui, has taken to TikTok to announce their breakup.

She added that "there's no way we will patch back anymore".

In a reel that was about seven-and-a-half minutes long on her personal account, Lihui listed multiple alleged "red flags" in Lim's behaviour to explain why she broke up with him.

She also noted that Lim had put up a reel on their official couple TikTok account, @sarahstevenlove, that supposedly portrayed her as attempting to break up with him over a Chanel bag and called for viewers to hear her side of the story before dismissing her as a "gold digger".

In the video, Lihui made several negative claims about Lim's behaviour, alleging that he was "insecure", "calculative" and "oversharing" about their relationship in a public livestream.

"That is another reason I really cannot stand him," she said.

She also claimed that Lim had criticised her as being "materialistic" for buying a Dior bag, although she had supposedly bought him many gifts herself.

Comments that were made in response to Lihui's reel were largely supportive.

Lim's response

In response to Mothership's queries, Lim shared the links to his reel on their official account, in which he alleged that Lihui had wanted him to pay for "everything", not just bags.

He also shared screenshots of a response from ChatGPT, which said asking for an expensive bag is a red flag and recommended that he not buy it, call out her behaviour and let her walk away from the relationship if necessary.

He also replied that she made him feel insecure for supposedly "teaching" other women how to "flirt" and said he did not want to buy expensive Chanel-brand bags for her.

A man was spotted at Pek Kio market livening up the atmosphere while belting out some jazzy tunes from his saxophone at lunch time on Aug. 2.

According to a Mothership reader who shared videos of the saxophonist, he was seen playing at the market during lunch time, from 12:45pm to 1:45pm.

"He was busking throughout the entire time I was there," the reader added.

Tunes that could be heard being played included a smooth, velvety version of "Golden" from KPop Demon Hunters, much to his amazement.

The reader added that his friend, who lives in the vicinity, said he had seen the saxophone player busking at Pek Kio market for about a year or so.

So if you are looking for a good way to jazz up your lunch on a Sunday, perhaps a visit to Pek Kio market is what you need.

A man was caught on camera swearing at another commuter on the MRT, supposedly for sitting in the priority seat.

Facebook user Kelvin Ngui shared a 27-second clip on Facebook of an older man hurling vulgarities in English and Hokkien, supposedly after another commuter did not give up their priority seat.

According to Ngui, the incident took place on Jul. 28 at around 11:20am.

The man boarded the MRT at Eunos station and allegedly demanded the priority seat in a rude manner, he added.

When the commuter apparently did not give up the seat, the old man swore at the commuter, saying "f*ck you" and appearing to point at the priority seat sticker.

The man then went on to use several vernacular insults, like "n*b*i", "ch**by*" and "k*n n* n* b*" before walking away

Priority seats on Singapore public transport are designated spaces reserved for passengers with special needs, like the older generation, women who are pregnant or people with disabilities.

Commuters are not obligated to give up the seat if they are sitting in the priority seats, but they are encouraged to give up their seat for someone else.

This was pointed out by numerous commenters who criticised the man's behaviour.

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The brother of a 20-year-old Singaporean woman who was recently reported missing in Cambodia shared that she is safely back in Singapore and has apologised on behalf of his family.

In a statement on his Facebook, Aishah Siregar's brother, Syafiq Siregar, thanked all who worked to help locate Aishah and ensure her return to the family.

Syafiq then went on to apologise for "everything that has happened".

Incredibly distressing time

"This has been an incredibly distressing time for our family, especially for a mother who suddenly lost contact with her daughter after seeing her child every day for the past 20 years," he wrote.

Syafiq went on to apologise on behalf of his family for any words that were taken out of context due to the nature of the incident.

He also shared that his father's social media accounts had been suspended for an unknown reason.

"Our intentions were never to hurt the feelings of the people of Cambodia, but only to find our sister and bring her home safely. We are unable to control what the public or media say, report, or speculate," he added, hoping people would understand his family's fear and desperation.

Stress and restricted

When Aishah was found, she had addressed the public through a video statement, saying that she travelled to Cambodia of her own free will and that she had not been scammed or forced.

Aishah said that she had been experiencing stressful living conditions while in Singapore and wanted to find her own path.

"That's why on the 20th of July, I decided to leave on my own and come to Cambodia to work as an English teacher," she said.

Aishah added that the decision to go to Cambodia was "entirely [her] choice" and said she was not forced or scammed.

"I have not been forced to come here. I have not been scammed into coming here. It is entirely up to my own decisions and my own concerns about it," she said.

She also said she has not been involved in or forced to participate in any scamming or criminal activities.

In his statement, Syafiq said that the family acknowledges Aishah's feelings of stress and restriction.

He added that they will take her feelings seriously, listen to them and address the concerns privately as a family.

Clarification

However, he shared that the family is saddened by the speculation and negative comments directed at them regarding certain claims.

He went on to clarify certain claims that have been circulating online and "taken out of context".

When Aishah was first reported missing, Syafiq told Malay media Berita Harian that the family was on their way to pick her up from school at about 5pm when they found that her phone number was no longer contactable and her WhatsApp account was no longer active.

They also found that Aishah's passport was not at home. The police subsequently confirmed that Aishah had already left Singapore via a flight.

When they tried to log into her email, they reportedly found a flight ticket booking to Cambodia and believed that she had flown off to Phnom Penh.

According to CNA, other emails showed that Aishah had transferred hundreds of dollars to an unknown person days before she went missing.

Access to personal account, pick up from school

Syafiq stated in the statement that no one in the family had access to Aishah's personal accounts before her disappearance.

He also clarified that their parents do not pick up Aishah from school every day, explaining that Aishah would be given a ride on occasion, when she requested it or when the parents offered.

As for the letter that Aishah wrote, Syafiq said that it was submitted to the Singapore Police Force when the initial police report was lodged.

"This has been an extremely distressing experience for everyone involved. We respectfully ask the public not to make further assumptions or direct hurtful comments towards Aishah or our family...

As my sister is back on Singapore soil, we ask everyone to give my family and Aishah some room and privacy at this point of time to heal."

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A group of Aljunied residents banded together to surprise Workers' Party chief and Aljunied Member of Parliament (MP) Pritam Singh, ahead of his 50th birthday on Aug. 2.

Singh shared a video of himself being surprised by some residents at his Tea With Residents with a birthday celebration, complete with cake and a card on Jul. 25.

Singh thanked those who arranged the surprise, adding that it has been his privilege and honour to be part of the community.

"Thank you so much for welcoming me and my colleagues and my friends in the work that we do. Your effort, your support to us mean a lot to us. And my style has been very simple: just help everybody. Don't think so much about who like who, who support who. Not important.

I'm the MP now, I'll just do my best."

A group of men in Klang, Malaysia, were caught on camera after allegedly beating a dog to death, despite pleas from the owner.

Taking to Instagram, the owner of the dog, Rocky, shared that she had begged the men to leave the dog alone.

"As his owner, the only thing I was able to do at that moment was beg them. I begged them so many times to leave Rocky alone, but they still didn't stop. Even after my mum shouted at them and begged them to leave him, they still didn't let him go," she wrote on Instagram.

She added that Rocky had never bitten anyone and they had never received any complaints about him.

"We genuinely don't understand why this happened or why they decided to kill him."

Beaten and captured

According to the animal welfare group, Persatuan Haiwan Terbiar Malaysia (SAFM), Rocky was allegedly beaten, captured, strangled using a cable/wire and dragged by a group of local men on Jul. 29.

Witnesses shared that Rocky was beaten before being captured and strangled.

When Rocky's owner arrived, the dog was already in a noose.

SAFM added that while trying to save Rocky, its owner was reportedly struck several times on her right arm with a wooden stick. Another man apparently grabbed her arm to stop her from reaching Rocky.

SAFM pointed out that two officers from the Royal City Council of Klang were present at the scene, and questioned their presence.

A stray dog capture operation

In a statement on Facebook, the South Klang Police chief said the incident took place during a stray dog capture operation conducted by the Royal City Council of Klang with the assistance of residents from the housing estates.

The police added that it has opened an investigation under Section 428 of the Penal Code for the offence of committing mischief by killing an animal.

Complaints regarding safety concerns

The Royal City Council of Klang (MBDK) shared on Facebook that it was carrying out the operation following official complaints from residents about safety concerns due to a large number of stray dogs in the area.

It added that the surrounding area previously experienced stray dog attacks, with one incident nearly killing a child.

MBDK stated that during the operation, a group of individuals obstructed MBDK personnel attempting to capture a dog found roaming unattended on a public road.

It claimed an individual acted aggressively by attempting to cut the loop rope with a knife and threatened to harm themselves if the dog was not released.

"The ensuing struggle and scuffle made it difficult for MBDK officers to loosen and remove the loop equipment in order to safeguard the animal's welfare, resulting in the animal's death," said MBDK.

"MBDK expresses its regret over the incident and remains committed to carrying out enforcement duties professionally, prudently, and in compliance with recognised animal welfare standards.

MBDK also urges all pet owners to act responsibly by ensuring that their pets' licences remain valid and by not allowing their animals to roam freely in a manner that endangers public safety."

The organisation said that it has left the investigation entirely to the police.

The queen consort of the Sultan of Selangor, Tengku Permaisuri Hajah Norashikin, who is the Royal Patron of the Stray Free Selangor initiative, expressed her sadness over the incident and added that the public's trust in public institutions can only be strengthened if public servants act with professionalism.