A man who bought a six-can pack of Ice Mountain sparkling water recently was charged S$0.60 more than the usual price as a refundable deposit under the Beverage Container Return Scheme (BCRS).

But while the packaging of the entire pack bore the BCRS Deposit Mark, he claimed that the cans inside did not.

This meant that he could not return the cans at a Return Right machine to get each can's 10-cent deposit back.

"I believe many consumers do not know they were mistakenly charged the deposit," the man, Cheah Kok Keong, told Mothership.

"I do not know how long this error has been occurring, how widespread it is or how many consumers are affected," he added.

He has noticed the discrepancy only for the Ice Mountain grapefruit-flavoured sparkling water, which he bought at the Taman Jurong and Chinatown Point FairPrice outlets around the middle of June.

A spokesperson at F&N Foods, the manufacturer and distributor of Ice Mountain drinks, told Mothership that they were aware of the matter.

Following investigations, the company identified the affected products and replaced "the limited number of affected stocks".

Transition period

The F&N Foods spokesperson explained that the error involved "an isolated batch of stocks" as the company "transitioned [its] packaging to comply with the requirements of the recently introduced BCRS".

Although the BCRS officially began on Apr. 1, beverage producers are given a transition period until Sep. 30, 2026, to clear stocks that are not labelled with the Deposit Mark.

During this transition, consumers can expect a mix of containers on the shelves – some with the 10-cent refundable deposit, and others without.

On Jul. 7, CNA reported that drinks retailers and wholesalers had been facing various mix-ups in old and new inventory, sometimes resulting in erroneous charges for consumers.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) and BCRS Ltd. jointly shared then that issues were still being identified and addressed during the transition period.

In response to such errors, NEA has engaged businesses to explain the scheme requirements, they said.

"So far, businesses that have been engaged have promptly corrected the erroneous charges."

Recently when a Mothership writer tried the BCRS machines, he encountered an error in getting his S$0.10 deposit back, and had to email BCRS for the refund, which he received two weeks later.

Offered refund & replacement

After being mistakenly charged, Cheah submitted feedback to F&N Foods.

The company replied on Jul. 8 to apologise and offer to collect and replace his sparkling water cans, according to the email correspondence seen by Mothership.

However, he rejected this offer, saying "it is not a definitive and meaningful resolution".

"It only addresses my personal feedback, but not the thousands of unsuspecting consumers," he said, and urged the company to find a "more accountable way" to address the mistake.

F&N Foods told Mothership that consumers who have queries or concerns may contact their Customer Service Hotline at 6210 8200.

A FairPrice Group spokesperson said that they had also received feedback from Cheah.

"We immediately removed all affected stock from our shelves and issued a refund to the customer," they said.

Customers who purchased the affected product from FairPrice between May 16 and Jun. 30 may visit any FairPrice store from Jul. 22 to 31 with their receipt to receive a refund for the BCRS deposit fee.

A physical education (PE) teacher at a secondary school in Singapore pursued one of his students romantically and committed sexual acts on her when she was between 14 and 15 years old.

The 45-year-old man pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual penetration of a minor on Jul. 23, reported The Straits Times.

According to ST, the man paused for a while and "heaved a sigh" before replying that he admitted to the statement of facts read out in court by the prosecution.

Another 12 charges will be considered during sentencing on Sep. 16.

He cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the identity of the victim, who is now 18.

It is not known whether he is still employed as a teacher, ST reported.

Taught victim in school, got close online

The man, who had eight years of teaching experience at the time of the offences, taught the victim in 2022.

They later followed each other on Instagram and started chatting about topics the girl was interested in, like books and writing.

They then moved to chatting on Telegram, where he would periodically tell her to delete the messages.

While they texted each other often, they did not speak much in school.

The man began professing his romantic feelings for her and repeatedly asked her to be his girlfriend.

Knowing it was wrong to be in a relationship with a teacher, the girl said that she needed time to think about it.

However, the man insisted that it was not wrong as long as it did not affect her studies, despite their 28-year age gap.

Went to hotel together

Some time before Aug. 28, 2022, the man invited the girl over to his house, but she refused.

He then suggested going to a hotel instead, saying they could read and watch television.

The man booked a room at the hotel and arrived alone first, then met her on the third floor to hand her a key card.

They then entered the room separately.

Inside, the girl sat on a sofa to read a book, while the man caressed her, rested his head on her lap and kissed her, ST reported.

They left separately after five hours.

Began relationship

The girl eventually became convinced that it was acceptable for them to be in a romantic relationship.

On Aug. 29, the girl told the man that she felt guilty for making him wait and was willing to be in a relationship with him, ST reported.

She also noted that he had kissed her, acts that should be done between people in a relationship.

The man also had nicknames for her like “baby” and “princess”.

He would often talk about sex, saying he would wait for her to be 16 years old to have sex with her.

He also talked to her about her bra size and the size of his sex organ.

Engaged in sexual acts

The relationship eventually culminated in sexual acts between the two.

On Sep. 11, 2022, the pair met at a hotel where the man carried out various sex acts on her.

He also repeatedly asked her to carry out a sex act on him until she agreed to do so.

On another occasion on Jan. 11, 2023, the man messaged the victim, who was then 15, to meet him in a room during a school camp to engage in sexual acts.

They left the room after she became afraid of being found out.

Victim ended relationship

On Jan. 29, the girl ended the relationship after feeling that the man was becoming very possessive — he was jealous of her male friends and also talked about marriage.

The man did not take the news well, crying and threatening to pull out all his hair.

He also texted the victim’s friends to find out if she was seeing anyone.

One of the victim's friends eventually told school officials after finding out that she had been in a relationship with the man.

Arrested

When questioned by the school, the man initially admitted that they engaged in "heavy petting", but did not mention the sexually penetrative acts.

He also deleted the Telegram messages between them.

The school informed the girl’s parents, who then lodged a police report.

He eventually admitted to the acts during investigations.

The man will be sentenced on Sep. 16.

A 54-year-old man was jailed for 36 weeks, fined S$30,000 and had his driving licence revoked for nine years after he drove drunk, crashed into a taxi and fled the scene, all while his car was missing a tyre.

The accused, Cai Jinhua, faced six charges including drink driving, careless driving, hit-and-run, and crossing double white lines, according to Shin Min Daily News.

He pleaded guilty to three of the six charges, with the remaining three taken into consideration during sentencing.

What happened

On the night of Jul. 16, 2024, at 10pm, Cai dined at a restaurant along Thomson Road, where he consumed about three glasses of beer, before driving home about an hour later.

At around 11:56pm, Cai was driving in the second lane along Thomson Road towards Upper Thomson Road.

He failed to pay attention to the road ahead and rear-ended a taxi that was waiting to turn right at the first lane near a junction.

After the collision, Cai did not stop his vehicle or render assistance to the taxi driver.

The injured taxi driver, 56, reported the hit-and-run to the police.

Continued driving without a tyre

Despite his car losing a tyre in the collision, Cai continued to drive, weaving between lanes.

He failed to slow down when the traffic light turned amber, crossed double white lines, and struck a kerb while entering the slip road towards the Pan-Island Expressway.

His car eventually came to a standstill in the middle of two lanes.

Police arrived at the scene following a report and arrested Cai at 1:15am the following day.

Injuries and damages

The taxi driver sustained a neck strain and minor head injuries, and was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital before being discharged the same day.

Based on investigations, the collision caused the taxi's left rear tyre to burst and its rim to be damaged.

Its rear left bumper was also scraped.

Cai’s car sustained dents on both sides, with the front right tyre completely detached.

Cai has since compensated the taxi driver S$2,106, covering S$1,308 in repair costs, as well as lost income and towing fees, according to Shin Min.

According to court records cited by Shin Min, Cai did not pay the fine and opted to serve an additional 100 days in jail instead.

A 24-year-old Indonesian domestic worker was sentenced to two months and two weeks' jail after she placed her employer's crying one-year-old boy on the parapet ledge of a staircase landing at a block of flats in Admiralty.

Charge sheets and court documents seen by Mothership stated that Lihsna Ayu Indahsari pleaded guilty on Jul. 23 to one charge of violating the Children and Young Persons Act 1993.

There is a gag order on the victim's identity.

'Extremely dangerous act'

Court documents stated that at the time of her offence, Lihsna's duties while employed by the victim's family, included taking care of the victim.

At around 12pm on May 18, 2026, at Block 468C Admiralty Drive, she was carrying the boy to calm him down as he was crying.

Lihsna observed that the boy leaned forwards towards the parapet ledge, which she understood to mean he wanted to see the birds flying overhead.

She then decided to place the toddler on the parapet ledge at a staircase landing between the fifth and sixth floors of the block, for around five minutes.

According to court documents, she did not leave the boy unattended during this period and he did not sustain any injury.

At around 12:27pm that day, a complainant, who lived in the block and was unrelated to Lihsna and the victim, lodged a police report.

It stated that he had witnessed the accused carrying the child and putting the child on the parapet ledge of a staircase landing and that he believed this to be an extremely dangerous act.

Ill treatment of young toddler

The police had previously confirmed with Mothership that a report was lodged.

The woman was arrested on Jul. 7, held in police custody until she was first produced in court on Jul. 8, and has been remanded since then.

Court documents stated that prior to her offence, there were no other reported instances of her ill-treatment of the victim.

It added that the case was an isolated, brief incident of ill-treatment of a young toddler, where the accused's conduct constituted an appalling lapse in proper judgment in ensuring the victim's physical safety and well-being.

As such, the prosecution sought a sentence of between three and five months' jail, and had no objections to the sentence being backdated to the accused's date of arrest.

Singapore actor Chew Chor Meng's eldest daughter Chloe has graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS).

According to 8world, Chloe graduated from NUS' Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

Chew's wife, Chen Yixuan, penned an emotional message to mark the occasion.

Wife's emotional tribute

Chen shared a series of graduation photos on Instagram alongside a heartfelt message to their daughter.

She wrote: "Happy Graduation, my dear daughter. We are so proud of the woman you have become. May God continue to bless and guide you always.”

Chen described Chloe as someone who has always brought joy to the family, praising her for being self-disciplined, mature, responsible, and never giving her parents cause for worry.

As Chloe prepares to begin the next milestone, Chen said she hoped her daughter would approach every joy and challenge with courage, faith, and humility.

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Tan Deon (@tandeon)

Chew absent from ceremony

Based on photos shared on Instagram, Chew did not appear to have attended the graduation ceremony in person.

He was only pictured with Chloe at home, where he was seen perched on a high stool.

According to 8world, his absence could be related to health conditions he has been experiencing in recent years, which might have affected his mobility.

Chew suffers from Kennedy's disease, a rare condition that leads to muscular atrophy.

He was diagnosed in 2008 with the condition, which results in wasting and weakening of muscles, affecting mobility, as well as speaking and swallowing abilities.

The disease affects one out of 40,000 in Singapore.

There is no cure for it, only the allaying of symptoms.

The police have arrested a 21-year-old Australian woman for her involvement in a case of shop theft committed in the transit area of Changi Airport Terminal 1.

On Jun. 12, 2026 at about 12:05am, the police were alerted to a case of shop theft at The Shilla Duty Free outlet located in the departure transit area of Changi Airport Terminal 1.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the retail staff had discovered a missing box of perfume, valued at S$312.80, from the display shelf on Jun. 11 at about 11:30pm.

Surveillance footage showed the woman taking the item from the display shelf and leaving the shop without making payment.

The woman’s identity was later established and she was arrested upon her return to Singapore on Jul. 18.

The woman was slated to be charged in court on Jul. 24 with the offence of theft in dwelling.

The offence carries a jail term of up to seven years, a fine, or both.

The police said retailers are increasingly leveraging surveillance footage to lodge police reports against shoplifters, even when immediate apprehension is not possible.

"This serves as a significant deterrent – even if offenders manage to evade detection at the time of the offence," the police said.

Such evidence greatly increases the likelihood of their eventual identification, and they will face the full brunt of the law, the police added.

A 28-year-old Malaysian man was arrested for allegedly being a member of a money laundering syndicate.

As a result of information provided by MariBank, the syndicate was disrupted in March 2026 during Operation Frontier+ III, a joint two-month operation targeting transnational scams.

It was conducted by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) in partnership with nine foreign law enforcement agencies.

Arrest

On Jul. 20, the man was detained at Kuala Lumpur International Airport after a warrant of arrest was issued by Singapore authorities.

He was subsequently handed over to the Singapore police on Jul. 21.

The man was slated to be charged on Jul. 22 for abetment by conspiracy to assist another person in retaining benefits from criminal conduct.

If convicted, offenders are liable to a maximum jail term of 10 years, a fine up to S$500,000, or both.

The police expressed gratitude towards the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) for their cooperation and assistance in facilitating the arrest.

The police also commended MariBank for their cooperation.

Law

From Dec. 30, 2025, convicted scammers and members or recruiters of scam syndicates are liable to at least six strokes of the cane, up to a maximum of 24 strokes.

Convicted scam mules who enable scammers by laundering scam proceeds are liable to face discretionary caning of up to 12 strokes.

This includes certain money laundering offences under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act.

The police said they take a serious stance against anyone who may be involved in scams, and perpetrators will be dealt with in accordance with the law.

The police also reminded members of the public to never transfer cash, jewellery or other valuables to unknown persons whose identity has not been verified, never leave money or valuables at a location to facilitate subsequent collection, and never share the screen of devices or disclose login credentials to anyone unknown.

The government will also never ask to transfer money over the phone, request banking login details, instruct the installation of mobile apps from unofficial app stores, or transfer the call to the police.

For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamshield.gov.sg or call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799.

A 41-year-old former teacher was sentenced on Jul. 23 to two years' jail after he made indecent advances on his underage female students.

The man, who was married at the time of his offences, made one student sit on his lap and call him "daddy".

Both students reported him to the school principal, and he was found guilty of three counts of performing an indecent act with a child, and one count of sexual grooming.

There is a gag order on details about the man and the school to protect the student's identity.

Inappropriate messages

Court documents seen by Mothership stated that the man, who taught design and technology (D&T) classes at the school, had become a fully trained teacher in 2014.

In 2022, he got to know one of the students when she was between 13 and 14 years old.

The man and the girl often met at the school's D&T studio, where he would provide consultations for her.

He also helped her with mathematics despite not teaching the subject.

They regularly communicated over WhatsApp over a period of about five months, having extensive conversations that frequently took place after 6:30pm, including about personal matters.

Court documents stated: "During these conversations, the complainant addressed the accused as 'daddy', 'dearest daddy', and similar variations from... 2022 to the end of January 2023.

"In return, the accused addressed the complainant as his 'dearest daughter' and variations of the term."

Unsolicited comments on physical appearances

In addition, the man frequently gave the student unsolicited compliments on her physical appearance no less than 24 times.

He also told the student in a message that has since been deleted, that he would date her in the future, marry her and make her his wife.

The man knew that communicating with the student in this manner was inappropriate and violated the Code of Conduct.

Vanishing mode

He was then warned by his subject head around Nov. 16, 2022, that it was inappropriate for the student to call him "daddy".

The man was also warned to keep his distance from the student.

Court documents stated that after receiving the warning, "the accused deleted all the photos that the complainant had sent to him via WhatsApp and instructed the complainant to 'unstar' messages that he had sent to her, delete all photos and messages between them, in case her phone was checked".

Subsequently in the same conversation, the man suggested moving their conversations to Instagram with the use of "vanishing mode", which is a chat mode specifically designed to prevent screenshots and screen recordings of messages.

Inappropriate physical advances

From September to November 2022, they met at least five times where he would hug her and kiss her cheeks.

During one meeting in the D&T room, the man instructed the girl to sit on his lap, which she did despite feeling uncomfortable.

Court documents stated: "He stroked her stomach with his thumb for about a minute. The accused also hugged the complainant more than 10 times and kissed her on the cheeks and forehead... Furthermore, when she was sitting on his lap, the accused told her that he had not had sex with his wife in two years."

On Nov. 28, 2022, in a car that the man had rented, he kissed her cheeks while she sat on his lap and she did the same.

He also told her several times that she was not to tell anyone what happened between that day in case his actions were perceieved as grooming, to which she complied.

There were no meetings between the pair in December 2022.

The next time they met was in January 2023, at an alley behind the school hall, where the man hugged the girl and she hugged him back.

He also kissed her forehead a few times and told her "I love you" and "I miss you" several times, and the girl reciprocated by saying the same.

Treated girl poorly

Court documents stated that in May 2023, the man suddenly told the girl that they could not "be close" anymore, which she understood to mean that they could no longer hug, kiss, refer to each other as "dad"/"daddy" or "daughter", or use words of affection.

After that, the man began treating the girl poorly, specifically calling her "mentally ill", telling her that she was demanding, and avoided her whenever they walked past each other.

The girl testified that in the initial stage, she felt devastated from receiving such treatment from the man and her academic grades began to plummet.

However, over subsequent months, she began to realise that she may have been groomed by the man after listening to her schoolmates talk about the man touching girls on their heads and his bias towards female students.

Reported, arrested

After finding out that the man had also supposedly been making advances on another female student, she suggested that they report him to the school principal together.

The Straits Times reported that the man was arrested and charged in court in 2024.

Defence lawyer Kalaithasan Karuppaya told ST after the case ended that his client had left his job after he was suspended.

A father in Taiwan became the sole surviving member of his family after his wife and both his sons died in separate traffic accidents involving drink-driving and riding without a licence over the years.

Most recently, his 17-year-old son died on Jul. 21 after colliding with a tree while riding a scooter drunk and without a licence.

He was on his way to a sunrise spot with his friends.

A girl, 17, who was riding pillion, also died in the accident.

Collided with a tree

According to ET Today, the 17-year-old, surnamed Liu (transliteration), was heading to a sunrise spot in Tainan city along with three other friends.

In the wee hours of Jul. 21, Liu collided with a tree and the scooter caught fire.

Both Liu and the girl succumbed to their injuries after being conveyed to the hospital.

Police investigations later revealed that Liu did not have a licence.

Blood tests also indicated that blood alcohol levels were above limits.

Wife and other son also died in traffic accidents

When interviewed by the media, Liu's father lamented: "Last year, his elder brother also died after riding a scooter without a licence. This year, it's his turn."

The elder son was also aged 17 when he passed.

When praying for his younger son, the father said, "If you wanted to die, you shouldn't have dragged someone else with you."

The father shared that the night before the incident, he had warned his son not to ride the scooter.

However, the son took the scooter using the spare key.

The father revealed that his wife had passed away after a drink-driving incident back when his sons were still toddlers.

She was drink-driving when she collided with a bridge column and was flung out of the vehicle.

According to the man, she was 24 at the time.

United States President Donald Trump will impose new tariffs ranging from 10 to 12.5 per cent on goods from 60 trading partners from Jul. 24.

Singapore is on the list of countries the U.S. Trade Representative alleged to have failed to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labour, according to a Jul. 23 memorandum.

Singapore will be hit with a 12.5 per cent rate, along with 37 other countries including China, Reuters reported.

Countries such as Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, the United Kingdom, and Mexico will get a lower 10 per cent.

They will take effect just as the current 150-day temporary 10 per cent tariffs expire at the start of Jul. 24, U.S. time.

Allegations previously rejected by MTI

The new tariffs are the result of investigations the U.S. Trade Representative launched in March 2026 into countries that allegedly do not properly enforce a forced labour import ban.

These countries include Singapore.

Previously on Jul. 6, Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) stated that "Singapore does not condone the use of forced labor in supply chains", and its import regulations are consistent with international rules and practices.

"There is no evidence of Singapore’s role in the supply chains of goods associated with forced labor exported to the U.S."

The allegations have also been rejected by other countries.

The foreign minister of Norway, also included in the list, said, "There is no basis for this tariff against Norway because we already have clear rules that are intended to prevent trade in goods produced using forced labor."

A corrective action

Announcing the new duties on Jul. 23, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said:

"The United States has had a forced labor import ban for nearly a century, and rigorously enforces it; it’s well past time for our trading partners to do the same.

Today’s action will begin to correct what is both a human rights abuse and distortive trade practice to improve the welfare of workers everywhere."

The tariffs will be imposed under Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974, which governs trade enforcement of practices that burden or restrict American commerce, BBC reported.

This means they will be subject to less legal risk of being struck down by the Supreme Court, as Trump's previous sweeping tariffs were in February, according to Reuters.

The new duties account for 99.4 per cent of U.S. imports, but goods such as steel, aluminium, oil and gas, fertiliser, and certain food items will be exempted.