An eight-year-old Singaporean boy with mild autism has collected over 170 bottles, earning around S$17, recycling them at Return Right machines under the Beverage Container Return Scheme (BCRS).

Saif Syafaat started collecting empty bottles as part of a routine that his mother said he genuinely enjoys.

His mother, Shikin, 34, told Mothership that the family often buys mineral water by the carton and also collects bottles from their meals at food courts and restaurants.

She said Saif learnt about BCRS through his parents and he enjoys the whole process, sometimes singing when he gets more excited.

"For him, I think there is also a sense of achievement when he sees how many bottles he has managed to collect."

'Mama, can I throw this over here?'

According to Shikin, who is also a mum to three other boys, Saif becomes very interested in things that catch his attention and has always loved collecting things, from action figures to Lego toys.

Every time a bottle was about to be thrown away, Saif would ask his mother, "Mama, can I throw this over here?"

Shikin said she has a separate bag for the bottles, and Saif patiently collects them and gets excited about returning them.

"To some people, it may just be an empty plastic bottle. But to Saif, every bottle is something he collected, sorted and contributed himself."

Recycles wherever is convenient

The family recycles near their estate in Ang Mo Kio and typically does so after Saif finishes classes at Northland Primary School, where he is studying while waiting for a place at a Special education (SPED) school.

The family uses the refunds as a reward, treating Saif to his favourite meal or an ice cream.

She added that as a mother, she loves "seeing how happy and proud he gets from this little routine."

"It has also become a wonderful way for him to learn about recycling, responsibility, sorting, counting and even the value of patience and rewards."

Shikin elaborated that the value of recycling is not just about the money or the rewards: "As a mum of a child with autism, I sometimes worry about whether he will find things that he genuinely enjoys and that can also help him build confidence and independence."

"It’s about seeing him discover something he enjoys, take ownership of it and feel proud of what he has achieved."

About 500 people braved the rain on Sep. 11 to send off Ng Lye Poh, the mother of Sheng Siong founder and CEO Lim Hock Chee, on her final journey.

Ng, affectionately known as "Sheng Siong Ah Ma", passed away on Sep. 5 at the age of 91.

Her funeral procession made a special detour past Sheng Siong's headquarters at Mandai Link, where more than 300 employees gathered to bid her farewell, Lianhe Zaobao reported.

About 500 joined funeral procession

The funeral procession began at around 2:15pm amid heavy rain.

Around 500 mourners, some carrying umbrellas and others wearing raincoats, walked slowly alongside the procession.

Nearly 130 personnel were involved in organising the funeral, which also featured five floral vehicles.

Some participants carried traditional crane- and butterfly-shaped decorations as they walked.

Employees lined road for nearly 300m

After passing Sheng Siong's headquarters at around 3:15pm, the hearse proceeded to Choa Chu Kang Cemetery for Ng's burial.

Employees lined the road outside the headquarters for nearly 300m, according to Lianhe Zaobao.

As the hearse passed, employees clasped their hands together and bowed deeply in silence.

@ryjohn1818 一路走好“昇菘嫲”🙏@Sheng Siong Official #ShengSiong #昇菘 ♬ 原声 - 九辞

Ng's wake was held at Woodlands Memorial, where her family booked the entire fifth floor of the funeral parlour.

An estimated 3,000 to 4,000 people attended the wake, including members of the public, Sheng Siong employees and figures from the business and political communities.

More than 3,000 condolence wreaths were also reportedly sent to the wake.

Speaking to Zaobao, one employee shared that Lim had always shown concern for his employees.

Following the death of his mother, staff wanted to offer their condolences and wished for him to take care of himself.

Another employee, who declined to be named, said Ng was friendly and could often be seen at company events.

Members of the public also turned up to bid Ng farewell.

One woman in her 30s, who attended with her parents, said her family did not personally know Ng but had heard that she was kind, approachable and well-respected.

Sheng Siong Ah Ma

Ng came from a poor family and raised nine children.

Even after her family's fortunes improved following Sheng Siong's success, she continued to spend time in HDB neighbourhoods and chat with residents.

Her approachable and down-to-earth nature earned her the affectionate nickname "Sheng Siong Ah Ma".

Ng was also the victim of a high-profile kidnapping in 2014.

She was abducted by two men, who initially demanded a S$20 million ransom before the amount was negotiated down to S$2 million.

She was subsequently released unharmed, and the ransom money was recovered by police.

Three Traffic Police (TP) officers caught on dashcam footage riding in an unsafe manner are being investigated, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) stated on Sep. 13.

Responding to queries from Mothership, the police said that they were aware of an incident involving the TP officers.

"Their actions are being investigated, and appropriate action will be taken against them."

The police added: "The SPF takes a serious view of road safety and expects all officers to adhere to traffic rules and exercise due care and attention."

According to the caption of the Sep. 11 Facebook post to the SGRV Admin page, the incident occurred at 3am on Sep. 4 at Ubi Avenue 3.

Based on the video, the officers were seen driving into the Traffic Police Headquarters at 10 Ubi Avenue 3.

Abrupt lane change

Two TP officers on motorcycles could be seen switching lanes shortly after exiting a turn, cutting through a narrow gap between a taxi in the left lane and the dashcam car in the footage.

The two officers overtook the car that was filming and turned into the Traffic Police Headquarters.

A person in the car could be heard saying: "See ah TP, they are dangerous, police ride like that you know".

A third TP officer approached from the left of the car filming, abruptly turned right from the left lane, and overtook the car.

The car driver was forced to make an emergency brake.

People in the car could be heard exclaiming: "Why he like that, eh that one b*stard sia".

It is an offence to drive a motor vehicle on a road without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for other road users, under the Road Traffic Act.

A 31-year-old man was arrested for driving under the influence of drugs after an accident involving a car, power-assisted bicycle (PAB) and bus in Rochor on Sep. 12.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) were alerted to the accident along Middle Road towards Sophia Road at about 6:45pm.

Car rear-ended bus

Speaking to Mothership, SBS Transit spokesperson Grace Wu said a car rear-ended bus service 56 while passengers were boarding and alighting at a bus stop along Middle Road.

Six passengers onboard the bus were injured, with one conveyed to hospital for treatment.

"We are in touch with her to offer our care and support," Wu said.

The other passengers were transferred to another bus to continue their journeys.

The police said a 32-year-old male PAB rider and a 65-year-old female bus passenger were conveyed conscious to hospital.

Another six people were assessed for minor injuries and declined to be taken to hospital, SCDF added.

The 31-year-old car driver sustained minor injuries but refused to be conveyed to hospital.

He was subsequently arrested for driving under the influence of drugs.

Vaporiser found in driver's possession

Police said a vaporiser was found in the driver's possession and seized.

The vaporiser-related offence has been referred to the Health Sciences Authority (HSA).

Police investigations are ongoing.

Car and bus damaged

Footage shared on Facebook group Complaint Singapore showed a black car that had crashed into the rear of an SBS Transit bus at a bus stop along Middle Road.

The bus's rear engine compartment and the car's bonnet appeared damaged.

For first-time offenders, driving under the influence can carry a jail term of up to one year, a fine of up to S$10,000, or both.

Repeat offenders can be jailed for up to two years and fined up to S$20,000, and may also be disqualified from driving.

A 35-year-old construction worker who died at a worksite along Jurong Port Road on Sep. 11 was struck by a hose connected to a compressed air pump while carrying out foundation works.

In response to Mothership's queries, a Ministry of Manpower (MOM) spokesperson said the workplace incident occurred at 37 Jurong Port Road at around 8:20pm on Sep. 11.

The worker was pronounced dead at the scene by attending paramedics.

Company instructed to stop concreting works

MOM identified Keller Foundations (S E Asia) Pte Ltd as both the occupier and employer of the worksite.

The ministry is investigating the incident.

The company has also been instructed to stop all concreting works at the worksite.

MOM said that as a general safety measure, compressed air systems should be properly isolated and fully depressurised before hoses, tools or fittings are disconnected.

Measures should also be taken to prevent hoses and other pressurised components from moving unexpectedly when connections are released.

According to MOM, failing to properly secure such systems can result in hoses whipping, flying projectiles and physical injury.

A 30-year-old secretary in Singapore embezzled S$63,000 from her employer after finding out that she was pregnant and worrying that she would not be able to afford the childbirth expenses.

She transferred the money into her personal bank account on 12 occasions over about two months.

Sim Shimin (transliteration) was sentenced to 18 months' jail, Shin Min Daily News reported.

She faced four charges, including criminal breach of trust and forgery, and pleaded guilty to three.

The remaining charge was taken into consideration for sentencing.

Found out she was 6.5 months pregnant

At the time of the offences, Sim worked as a secretary at Ossia International Ltd.

As part of her job, she was entrusted with the company's bank accounts and held the security token used to access them.

On May 4, 2024, Sim learned she was already six-and-a-half months pregnant.

The news apparently caught her by surprise.

Worried that she would not be able to afford the expenses associated with childbirth, she decided to take money from the company.

Between May 7 and Jul. 24, 2024, she made 12 transfers totalling S$63,000 from the company's accounts to her personal bank account.

Delayed handing over bank token

Sim went on maternity leave from Jul. 1.

However, she repeatedly delayed handing over the company's bank security token to her colleagues, which raised her supervisor's suspicions.

On Jul. 24, her supervisor asked her to surrender the token, saying it was needed to deal with an urgent matter.

The following day, the supervisor checked the company's bank accounts and discovered the unauthorised transfers.

A police report was subsequently lodged.

On the same day her offences were discovered, Sim emailed her supervisor and promised to repay the entire amount within two years.

However, she had not made any restitution by the time she was sentenced.

Forged bank statements to hide transfers

Sim also altered the company's bank statements to conceal what she had done.

As she was preparing to go on maternity leave, the company had asked her to hand over her duties to another employee in July 2024.

Fearing that the transfers would be discovered, Sim used a company laptop to alter bank statements from May, June and July.

She deleted records of the unauthorised transfers and changed the account balances on the statements to cover up the missing money.

The Singapore Fitness Alliance (SFA) has stepped in to help affected True Group employees find new jobs after True Fitness and True Yoga abruptly closed on Sep. 10, 2026.

In response to Mothership's queries on Sep. 13, SFA's president and co-founder Sean Tan said the association was "spearheading an initiative" with the National Instructors & Coaches Association (NICA), an organisation set up by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), and NTUC’s employment and employability institute (e2i).

SFA is a non-profit industry association set up in 2021 and includes most gyms and studios in Singapore as members, including Fitness First, Virgin Active and Anytime Fitness.

However, SFA will not be involved in any efforts to recover unpaid salaries or commissions, Tan noted.

235 affected staff joined SFA WhatsApp group

SFA set up a WhatsApp group for affected staff, with around 235 people having joined the chat thus far.

According to Tan, SFA is also compiling a list of affected True Group staff with their contact details and details of their last roles with the group.

With the consent of affected True Group staff, SFA will circulate the list of employees to SFA members on Sep. 14, 2026.

“This is the first effort that will be made. Thereafter, NICA and e2i will reach out to the affected staff to assist with possible job matching and/or skills retraining for those who request that,” Tan stated.

He added that several SFA members had expressed interest in hiring affected True Group staff, including Fitness First, Anytime Fitness, Virgin Active and PURE Group.

Tan was previously True Group's Chairman till June 2022

Tan was True Group's Chairman until June 2022 but noted he had no involvement with the group since.

SFA is speaking to its members to consider offering True Fitness and True Yoga members memberships or concessionary membership joining fees, said Tan.

"A number of them are considering this, and we hope to have details of these soon in the coming week. Realistically, SFA members are unlikely to be able to recognise or give credit for unutilised membership or PT packages."

Home-grown bakery Baker’s Brew Studio, which rebranded as BB Atelier in late 2025, has gone into liquidation.

According to its online entity profile, the company is undergoing liquidation as part of a creditors' voluntary winding-up process.

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Studio After Six (@studioaftersix)

The company was found unable to continue operating due to its liabilities, The Straits Times (ST) reported.

ST added that Goh Wee Teck and Lin Yueh Hung were appointed as liquidators.

Ceased operations on Jun. 1

Baker’s Brew previously operated several outlets around Singapore, including locations at Great World, Paragon, Upper Thomson and JEM.

In a message to Mothership from Jun. 22, BB Atelier confirmed that the bakery underwent a rebranding exercise in November 2025.

BB Atelier officially ceased operations on Jun. 1, 2026 and its physical outlet at Great World closed on the same day.

At the time of writing, its website and social media pages are unavailable.

Its Shopee store, which has around 3,800 followers and a 4.8-star rating, remains online but is marked as “on vacation”, with purchases disabled.

In response to complaints about unfulfilled orders, BB Atelier said in its Jun. 22 message that as of the previous week, more than 95 per cent of affected customers on their records have been refunded.

The remaining cases at that juncture mainly involved overseas customers and overseas banking arrangements, which the bakery said required "additional verification and processing time".

Involved in several civil cases

Separately, Baker’s Brew Studio is facing legal action.

PSGourmet, the company behind restaurant chain PS.Cafe, sued the bakery for negligence, with the case heard at the State Courts on Sep. 1, according to ST.

The bakery is also listed as a defendant in two other ongoing civil cases.

Mothership has contacted Baker's Brew for further comment.

The 2026 edition of the Singapore Terrorism Threat Assessment Report highlighted that youths who spend a significant amount of time on the internet may be exposed to violent, extremist or ideologically radical content.

Such encounters can happen both voluntarily and involuntarily.

For some youths, encountering such content online has become an unfortunate norm.

I can attest.

I am a 19-year-old Singaporean who has spent too much time online.

Algorithmic recommendations

While some may be surprised and view the consumption of extreme media as uncommon—given that we are in Singapore and there must be guidelines and restrictions in place—some of this content will always slip through filters.

As a likely result of algorithmic recommendations, content such as memes or edits referencing or glorifying extremist sentiment or acts of violence, and in some cases, straight-up gore, appear on social media platforms unsolicited.

This is the natural workings of a network distributing content to users to ensure people always have stuff to consume.

Some people will flag and report it.

Others will like it.

The content will get taken down.

Only to pop up elsewhere.

Once again, I can attest.

Here's what I have been exposed to.

Here's what the Internal Security Department (ISD) said some youths in Singapore have been exposed to.

Worse, while platforms monitor such content, algorithmic malfunctions can still occur.

In February 2025, Instagram saw an algorithmic malfunction in which hundreds of accounts pushed content depicting uncensored real-life graphic violence to its viewers.

Some have dubbed the incident the “Instagram Liveleak incident”, in reference to a now-defunct video-sharing website that was known for hosting extreme violence and gore content without much context.

Exposure

If you don't want to take my word for it, you can listen to others my age.

I've checked with them.

Adam, a 19-year-old, said he has been exposed to such content involuntarily since he was 14.

“When I was in secondary school, some guy went around showing everyone an ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) execution video. It was kind of a novel shock value thing,” he said.

“I couldn’t get the clip out of my head for a good two days,” he added

He was also recommended such content online and said he felt that nebulous algorithms “are the root cause for how often one sees extremist-related content”.

However, Adam feels that exposure to such content, particularly on Instagram, was “unsurprising”, even though it was “extreme”.

Is there a degree of desensitisation?

Perhaps.

Is there an innate curiosity that also makes kids want to dig deeper?

Perhaps as well.

“The gateways to extremist content or themes usually stem from interest in historical events and military or gun culture,” he theorised.

It is like scratching an itch.

Curious about extreme content

Another 19-year-old, Roman (not his real name), claimed that he was immersed in extreme content voluntarily at 14, when he first got on the Reddit forum.

“I mainly saw cartel execution videos, police bodycam footage, etc,” he said.

Roman claimed he initially viewed extreme content out of curiosity.

“I wanted to see if it is like how the movies depicted it,” he added.

However, Roman viewed himself as a rational and “tactical” person when it comes to consuming such media.

“There’s a fine line between doing it for exposure and knowledge, rather than viewing it with the intent to support actions,” he clarified.

“This is what evil people do, and there are evil people in the world,” he said.

Entertainment

However, other youths have also treated such content as humour.

Pravin, a 20-year-old, said he has been exposed to extreme content through social media “quite often”.

He was first exposed to it via YouTube.

However, Pravin viewed them as “stupid memes”.

He claimed that exposure to such content does not affect his actual worldview, as he is aware of the “misinformation and sensationalism” that comes with it.

“If anything, very extremist content kinda opens my eyes more to these kinda things,” he added.

Blurred lines

For some, exposure has also normalised and desensitised them to the gravity of such content to the extent they just become part of online consumption.

And the trend with online consumption is that everything can be waved off as "nothing can be truly personal" because you can be anyone online.

Krishna, an 18-year-old, attributed Instagram as the platform that made “hateful” content seem comedic.

He said he viewed the content as “just entertainment” and “treating it as not serious”.

When asked whether he views such content appearing in his algorithm as normal, Krishna agreed.

“I see a lot of my friends like that type of content too,” he said.

That does not make them budding terrorists or miscreants.

This attitude also has nothing to do with being "edgelord".

There is this age-old adage, which comes in a number of forms, one of which sums up this attitude: "You can be anybody on the internet, but you chose to be butt-hurt."

Therefore, getting riled up is a choice.

In other words, getting influenced can also be a choice.

And people like Krishna said they move on quite quickly: “I would rather find something I find entertaining than enjoy some mass-produced slop.”

Vulnerability

But it is not just about downplaying the effects of extreme content and ideologies perpetuated online.

For some, exposure to certain ideologies on the internet has led them down rabbit holes.

And they cut pretty close.

Jovann, a 19-year-old who is diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), said he experienced what he described as his own journey down an online ideological rabbit hole and nearly became politically radicalised when he was 13.

This is his re-telling of the sequence of events.

He was first exposed to political ideologies via the Political Compass online questionnaire.

The Political Compass is a two-axis grid that maps political beliefs based on economic and social views.

“The test is very flawed because kids are exploring politics and have very black-and-white and unnuanced views,” Jovann said.

After getting his Political Compass result, Jovann dug deeper into the rabbit hole and came across left-leaning content on YouTube in 2020.

This led him to “subscribe” to Anarcho-communism, a political philosophy that advocates a stateless, classless, and moneyless society based on common ownership and voluntary cooperation.

Jovann started reading political books and became active in political communities on Reddit.

He also added that his neurodivergence apparently made him more susceptible to such beliefs.

“We hyperfocus and obsess about things. Also, many neurodivergent people lack real-life social circles growing up, leading to them finding niche communities which tend to be political and wacky,” he explained.

Jovann claimed that his views eventually “fizzled out” and became more “moderate”, and he realised that Anarcho-communism is quite “niche”.

“When I was 13, I told my siblings about my Anarcho-communist ideals, and they laughed and tore it apart. I realised I couldn't rationalise the ideology and was like LARPing (Live Action Role Play).”

“So it made me read more. The more I learned, the less extreme and more grounded I got,” he added.

Jovann also acknowledged that not every trip down an online ideological rabbit hole necessarily ends the same way as his case.

“For those who fall into the other extremes, there are communities," he reflected. "And then it's dangerous."

Jovann also admitted he had tried getting involved in ongoing geopolitical conflicts, but failed.

“I realised that there was nothing I could do,” he said.

Community needs to step in

ISD said in the Singapore Terrorism Threat Assessment Report that family members, friends and the community are key in reporting early signs of radicalisation.

Jovann also reflected on his experiences and weighed in on how to address radicalisation among youths.

“When you tell kids that what they believe is evil and they can't learn about it, it reinforces it and makes them believe it in secret.”

Drawing from his experiences, Jovann also said parents “should, without judgment, get their kids to express their views”.

“They should have logical debates and discussions, not shoot down ideas and say 'it's wrong because it's extreme',” he added.

ISD also advise members of the public to watch for common signs of radicalisation and stay vigilant, including among people close to them.

The public can report any suspicious terrorist activities or signs of radicalisation early to ISD at 1800-2626-473.

ISD will keep informants' identities confidential.

No action will be taken if the person reported is not found to be radicalised or to pose a security threat.

If the person is in the early stage of radicalisation, they may be referred for counselling or other interventions, without the need to be dealt with under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

A 35-year-old man has died following a work-related incident on Sep. 11 at a construction site.

Police confirmed with Mothership that they were alerted to the incident at the vicinity of Jurong Port Road at about 8:25pm.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene by a Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) paramedic.

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

Police investigations are ongoing.