A 66-year-old Singaporean man was sentenced to six months and one week’s jail for spraying insecticide at a flame to burn his 66-year-old roommate, and in a separate case, stealing a pair of slippers belonging to an 11-year-old girl at a tuition centre.

Or Yong Soon faced seven charges, including voluntarily causing hurt, criminal intimidation, mischief, acting and theft.

He pleaded guilty to three charges and was sentenced on Aug. 18.

The remaining charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

Dispute

In court documents seen by Mothership, Or and his roommate, identified as "Steven Tan", lived in a rental flat at Block 208A Woodleigh Link.

On Mar. 22, between 11am and 2:25pm, both men got into a dispute over living arrangements.

Or grabbed an aerosol spray can containing insecticide, sprayed it toward a lighter to create a flame, and directed it toward Tan.

Tan sustained burns to his right hand and forearm.

The injury was reportedly about 20cm long and 5cm wide, extending from the knuckles to the middle of the forearm.

Tan was later given five days of medical leave.

Or also used an aerosol spray can and an open flame from the lighter to burn Tan’s umbrella.

The burnt umbrella was later retrieved from the ground floor.

Or admitted to throwing the umbrella out of the flat’s window.

Theft

On Nov. 2, 2025, at about 2:07pm, police were alerted to a report that a pair of slippers valued at about S$50 had been stolen from a tuition centre at Woodleigh.

Officers from Woodleigh Neighbourhood Police Centre were dispatched to the incident location.

The tuition centre owner told officers that earlier that day, at about 11:35am, qn 11-year-old girl reported that her pair of “Adidas” brand black slippers was missing.

She had left her slippers outside the entrance area of the learning centre.

The owner checked surveillance footage and observed Or loitering near the tuition centre.

Or was seen exchanging his slippers with the girl’s slippers.

He then subsequently walked away from the tuition centre with the victim’s slippers.

Depression

The prosecution sought five to six months' jail for Or.

They argued that the injuries caused would have resulted in Tan suffering from “some disamenities caused by the second-degree burn”.

The prosecution also cited Or's prior offence in 2002 and another offence in 1981.

“The antecedents can be considered dated. The value of the item stolen is not particularly high,” they said.

The prosecution highlighted that Or suffers from mild major depressive disorder, which “increased his frustration and irritability as well as capacity to exercise self-control and restraint”.

“He was assessed to be able to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct,” they added.

According to Sinchew Daily, a video circulating online showed a woman storming into a primary school before confronting a student.

The video is around two and a half minutes long.

She is shown pinning him to the ground while holding his wrist and pulling his collar. According to Sinchew, the woman demanded to know why he had bullied her child. The student can be heard claiming that her child had scolded him "babi" first.

She also repeatedly said that "using force is wrong", and the video cuts off when the woman realises students were filming her and asks them to delete the video.

According to Sinchew, the video of the bullying, where a student, thought to be the boy the mother had confronted, can be seen hitting the other student with a badminton racket has also gone viral.

The police are investigating the matter, saying both parties filed police reports.

After receiving cupping therapy at a wellness centre, a Singapore woman discovered that the bruising from the session did not fade.

Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, Wu (transliteration) said she had been suffering from neck and shoulder pain for many years.

On Aug. 13 at around 5pm, she decided to head to a wellness centre near Blk 254A Serangoon Central.

The 46-year-old shared that she passed by the wellness centre that day and decided to try a moxibustion treatment for S$99 as a promotional offer, hoping it would relieve her aches.

Never done before

After the treatment, a staff member from the wellness centre recommended a "scraping" therapy as her "meridans" needed to be stimulated, Wu said.

Wu shared that she had never tried moxibustion before and had no idea what the "scraping" therapy, also known as "pai sha", was, Shin Min Daily News reported.

The staff did not explain the process to her before they apparently took out a wooden board and tapped her legs.

Wu described the pain as similar to a woman being punished in an ancient Chinese drama.

The whole session lasted about 10 minutes, and after that, her legs were in pain, and she could barely stand.

"If I had known it would turn out like this, I definitely would not have agreed to the treatment," she said.

Bruising all over her leg

When Wu returned home, she was shocked to see her legs were covered with large, dark purple bruises.

The pain was apparently so severe that she had difficulty showering and bending her legs.

She also had to wear long pants to cover the bruises, despite the hot weather.

When a Shin Min Daily News reporter called the wellness centre, the manager shared that they had apologised to Wu several times after the incident and were willing to provide free follow-up treatments to help her recover.

The manager explained that while they did not explain it to Wu beforehand, they did explain the procedure during the session, saying it was intended to help expel stagnant blood.

"As she did not indicate that she wanted to stop, we continued with the treatment," said the manager.

Wu's bruises still had not faded by Aug. 17, said Shin Min Daily News.

Wu hopes that her experience will remind the public to understand the details of the treatment and procedures before they carry them out.

Japanese police in Fukuoka have launched an investigation after a 25-year-old Nepalese woman was found dead in the Nakagawa river with head injuries on Aug. 19.

According to Japanese media, Rajbanshi Laxmi had arrived in Japan in May 2023.

Bloodstains and signs of a struggle were also found in her apartment, which has led investigators to conclude she was a victim of a homicide.

While an autopsy could not find the cause of death, she was found to have sustained multiple injuries to her head and forehead that were inflicted by an object.

Had been working part-time while attending a Japanese language school

Laxmi had been studying at a Japanese language school while working part-time at a restaurant.

A classmate of Laxmi expressed sadness at her death and noted that she had been good at making TikToks.

She was last seen on Aug. 18 at about 10:30pm by a co-worker who saw her leaving the restaurant she worked at on a bicycle, Japan Today reported.

Her body was discovered at about 5:45am on Aug. 19, floating face down in the river, wearing a shirt and shorts but no shoes.

No personal belongings were found on her either.

A resident in the vicinity was quoted as saying that they had heard something big falling into the river.

Investigators believe the perpetrator had attacked Laxmi with a strong intent to kill and are continuing their investigation.

Her apartment did not show any signs of being ransacked or broken into.

A 21-year-old man was found dead at the entrance of a car park.

A coroner's inquiry into his death then revealed that shortly before his death, the man and his then 16-year-old girlfriend both took drugs and etomidate vaporiser pods (Kpods).

It was later revealed that the pair planned to end their lives together by taking large amounts of drugs.

Car park of a shopping mall

According to Shin Min Daily News, the incident happened on Jun. 24, 2025, at around 6:35am.

The investigating officer said that a mall security guard found a mobile phone and a white baseball cap at the car park entrance of a mall in Novena early in the morning.

The guard then found the man, Lim Yong Xiang (transliteration), lying motionless behind a signboard, and he alerted the police.

When the paramedics arrived, Lim's body was stiff, and his pupils were dilated.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

On parole

Shin Min Daily News reported that investigations revealed that Lim lived with his mother, grandmother, and older brother.

He had also been released on parole in May 2024 and was required to wear an electronic monitoring device.

On Jun. 23, Lim had dinner with his family before spending time with his then-16-year-old girlfriend at his house.

His girlfriend noticed Lim's body shaking violently, leading her to believe he was using Kpods.

Lim then invited his girlfriend to take a large amount of drugs with him to end their lives, and she agreed.

The two then consumed methamphetamine while Lim also smoked some Kpods.

The pair later left Lim's home with the intention of withdrawing money from an ATM before heading to Geylang to buy more drugs.

They were staggering as they walked, and Lim collapsed and lost consciousness several times along the way, but he would regain consciousness and continue walking, said Shin Min Daily News.

At around 3am, the two arrived at the mall and sat by the road.

At around 3:11am, Lim lay down and stopped moving.

His girlfriend was frightened and lingered before leaving, saying she was going to get help.

Suicide pact

Before the incident, Lim's girlfriend had apparently told an online acquaintance that the pair planned to end their lives by taking large quantities of drugs, said Shin Min Daily News.

The acquaintance became concerned and went with a relative to check on Lim's home.

However, no one answered, and they decided to call the police.

Investigating officers said the police also found conversations between the girlfriend and the online acquaintance where the girlfriend said that Lim was lying motionless on the ground.

The girlfriend also asked the acquaintance to call the police because she was too frightened and unsure of what to do.

Drug overdose

The investigating officer said the girlfriend did not know where Lim got the drugs, but recalled him saying he got the money to buy drugs by illegally selling personal bank accounts on Telegram to make a "quick buck".

The officer added that Lim had been diagnosed with severe depression and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in 2019, and insomnia and anxiety.

Lim had been taken to hospital several times before after overdosing on medication or drugs.

It was ultimately determined that Lim died from an overdose of drugs, Shin Min Daily News wrote.

If you or someone you know is in mental distress, here are some hotlines you can call to seek help, advice, or just a listening ear:

National Mindline 1771: 1771

SOS 24-hour Hotline: 1-767

Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019

Tinkle Friend: 1800-274-4788 (for primary school-aged children)

SHECARES@SCWO: Call: 8001 01 4616 | WhatsApp: 6571 4400 (for targets of online harms)

A 28-year-old woman filed a false police report after she became upset that her boyfriend, a 60-year-old bus driver did not spend time with her while he was driving.

According to Shin Min Daily News, Tang Pei Si (transliteration from Mandarin) claimed to the police that her boyfriend had stolen money from her and assaulted her.

He was forced to stop the bus as a result, disrupting the passengers on the bus.

Tang pleaded guilty to one charge of filing a false report on Aug. 21, and was sentenced to four days in jail.

Tried to prevent him from leaving just before he started work

Investigations revealed that at the time of the false police report, on Oct, 6, 2024, Tang and her boyfriend had been dating for about 10 years.

Her boyfriend worked as a bus driver at Hougang bus interchange and would commute daily from Malaysia to Singapore by motorcycle.

If his shift was in the afternoon, he would bring lunch for Tang, as she faced financial difficulties, and eat with her at the interchange.

On the day of the incident, she arrived at the interchange at 2pm for him to bring her lunch. However, as it was raining, he only arrived at about 2:25pm.

After lunch together, he prepared to go to work. However, Tang pulled at his uniform and prevented him from leaving as she was angry that he did not have time for her.

In addition, prior to Oct. 6, 2024, Tang had just returned the S$400 that she had borrowed from her boyfriend. However, she regretted it and asked for it back as she wanted to spend the money on clothes and shoes.

Her boyfriend refused, which made her unhappy.

Boarded the bus he drove and made a scene

At about 2:43pm, Tang boarded bus service 112, driven by her boyfriend.

She sat on the front seat, but was ignored.

Tang became increasingly irate about being "abandoned" at the interchange and the S$400 and she subsequently called the police, claiming that the bus driver had stolen S$400 from her, hit her and twisted her left hand.

As a result of her report, her boyfriend was forced to stop the bus and wait for officers to arrive.

The three passengers onboard the bus also had to disembark and wait for the next bus.

She eventually admitted during police investigations that she had filed a false report due to a personal relationship dispute.

A Singapore Police Force (SPF) car caught on fire along the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE), resulting in two officers being sent to the hospital for smoke inhalation.

In a Facebook post, a vehicle was seen parked along the slip road into the Seletar Expressway (SLE) on Aug. 21.

The vehicle was engulfed in flames.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force later arrived and extinguished the fire.

In response to Mothership's queries, the SPF said that a police vehicle caught fire along BKE towards Woodlands, at a slip road into SLE on Aug. 21 at around 12:10am.

Two traffic police officers were patrolling when they noticed smoke emitting from the engine compartment, and they immediately evacuated.

The two officers, along with a member of the public, tried to put out the fire.

Both officers were then conveyed conscious to the hospital for smoke inhalation.

Mothership understands that both have been discharged.

SPF said the cause of the fire is under investigation.

After two Singaporean livestreamers released a sarcastic apology video in response to criticisms over a vulgarity-laced tirade on TikTok, one of them has released a video explaining her reaction.

On Aug. 21, Winnie Heng released a video on TikTok, acknowledging that her words were wrong and that she should have handled her emotions better.

Heng also explained her reaction, saying she was "extremely frustrated that day".

What happened?

During one livestream with fellow streamer Vadalene Eng, the pair had hurled vulgarities at some customers.

The customers allegedly cancelled orders around 3am for highly sought-after crystals.

The customers they called out allegedly snatched up six to seven items during the livestream, then tried to cancel four to five of them after it ended.

"Is that really fair to everyone who waited?" Eng asked.

Clips of the rant circulated on social media.

"Go out and get hit by a car," Heng said in Mandarin.

"I curse you from the bottom of my heart. From the bottom of Winnie Heng’s heart."

The duo also used a string of expletives directed at customers.

Sarcastic apology

Heng and Eng faced backlash over a sarcastic apology video they issued in response to criticism of the livestream.

In videos posted on the duo's joint TikTok account, both appeared to apologise to fans, with Heng even appearing to cry, before she revealed that the apology was fake.

"They want us to like that," Heng said, wiping her tears with a tissue while pretending to apologise to what she referred to as "C* people" for cancelling their orders.

She said sarcastically: "Why did I scold them? I should have gone home and [cursed them with a voodoo doll]. Why did I scold them in their face?"

Her response was met with laughter from Eng and another woman in the video.

"Scolded too much"

In her latest video, Heng admitted she had "scolded too much" during that livestream and should not have hurled vulgarities and cursed at the customers.

She added that "something happened that [she] could not control" and that it affected her mood during the livestream.

Heng said that particular livestream was "very different" from other livestreams as it was "like an auction".

She explained that there was only one piece per item, so it was emphasised before the livestream that customers should not place an order if they were not sure.

However, during the livestream, customers still placed orders only to cancel them.

Heng added that the cancellations affected the team, the merchants, and those who wanted to purchase the items but couldn't.

She admitted there was a reason for her anger during the livestream, but no excuse for expressing herself that way.

Heng concluded the video by saying she will "definitely make good improvements on [her] future vocabulary".

@vedawinfamI was extremely frustrated that day but that does not justify the things I said. Those words were wrong, and I take responsibility for them. I should have handled my emotions better. I’ll learn from this and do better moving forward. ❤️♬ original sound - vedawinfam

On Aug. 20 and 21, the pre-peak hour discount for SimplyGo Ez-Link and bank card transactions was not activated due to a configuration error.

The pre-peak fare scheme provides a discount of S$0.50 (or the fare itself, whichever is lower) for commuters who tap in at a rail station before 7:45am on weekdays.

Some netizens on Reddit had brought up the issue earlier, saying the discount was not reflected in their journeys despite adhering to the cutoff time.

About 210,000 journeys affected for each day

The incident was announced by SimplyGo in a statement on social media on Aug. 21.

According to SimplyGo, an average of 210,000 journeys were affected as a result of the error.

SimplyGo added that they had since resolved the issue and called on members of the public to contact their hotline if they had any further queries.

"Commuters will now see the correct fares, with the discount applied where eligible, in the SimplyGo app. This is the fare which will be charged," they wrote.

In response to Instagram users who commented asking for a refund SimplyGo reiterated that they could see the correct fare, as well as any eligible discounts in the app.

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A 46-year-old Malaysian teacher died after falling unconscious while resting at school.

According to Oriental Daily, Merina Chua, was resting at the elementary school at around 1pm when she was found unconscious.

She was taken to the hospital but remained unconscious until she passed away a few days later.

Chua had been teaching for close to 20 years.

Her passing was announced by the elementary school.

The school praised her for being a warm and caring person, who created countless memories for her students.

They further added that her dedication had become a wonderful memory for those she left behind.