Two workers were injured after a fire broke out as they were replacing a manhole cover in Pioneer on Jul. 10.

Both suffered burn injuries and were taken to the hospital.

One has been discharged, while the other remains warded for observation.

Their employer, Hong Hock Global Pte Ltd, has been instructed to stop all similar manhole cover replacements works until the cause of the incident has been established, the Minister of Manpower (MOM) said in response to Mothership's queries.

Fire breaks out while hacking cement

According to MOM's spokesperson, the incident took place at about 10:50am on Jul. 10 along the pavement near the junction of Jalan Buroh and Pioneer Road.

Two workers from Hong Hock Global were carrying out the manhole cover replacement works.

While hacking the cement around the manhole, a flash fire occurred.

Underground infrastructure known to produce flammable gas

MOM's spokesperson explained that underground infrastructure such as sewerage and waste pipes are known to produce flammable gases.

"Hence employers carrying out works on such infrastructure must conduct comprehensive risk assessments before work commences and implement appropriate risk control measures to protect workers against fire and explosion hazards," the spokesperson also said.

"Workers should also be adequately briefed on the hazards and safe work procedures and be provided with the necessary supervision," they continued.

Investigation ongoing

MOM is investigating the incident.

The employer has been instructed by MOM to stop similar works until the cause of the incident has been established and the necessary measures have been implemented to prevent a recurrence.

MOM has also directed the employer to "review and strengthen its risk assessment and safe work procedures" for such works before they resume.

A Grab passenger was left stunned after her driver allegedly asked her to pay S$2 for a wet tissue that he offered.

Singaporean model Fiona Fussi took to TikTok to share what she described as "one of her worst Grab experiences" ever.

Snapped at initially

Fussi, who explained that she had a runny nose during the ride, asked the driver if he had any tissues.

The driver allegedly snapped "No" in response, and Fussi left it at that.

However, about five minutes later, he suddenly told her that he had wet tissues.

Thinking it was a kind gesture, Fussi accepted them.

However, when they arrived at her destination, the driver apparently turned around and said, "S$2 for the wet tissue."

Fussi said she was taken aback, as she had not been told that the tissues would cost money.

"It's not about the S$2; it's not expensive. But it's the principle that he never told me he was charging me money," Fussi said in her video.

"I thought he was just being nice."

Driver allegedly locked the doors

Fussi also alleged that the driver locked the car doors and refused to let her leave until she paid him for the tissue, which was an incredibly stressful situation for her.

"Is it just me, or that is not right?" she questioned.

Grab responds publicly

Grab has since responded in the comments section of her TikTok video, apologising and requesting that Fussi DM them with her booking number.

The model has liked the comment.

A new "buffet-style" economy rice hawker stall has opened in Woodlands, allowing diners to fill their plate with as much food as they like for S$7.

There are over 20 dishes to choose from with no restrictions on what or how much diners can take.

R&B Cai Fan's only rule is that refills are not allowed.

From prison to restaurants

According to Shin Min Daily News, co-owner Royce Lee first ventured into cooking when he was incarcerated.

He had been assigned to work in the prison kitchen while behind bars.

He joined a secret society at the age of 14 after falling into the wrong crowd.

Later, he got addicted to drugs and landed in prison twice for drug trafficking.

While working in the prison kitchen, he learnt to cook Western cuisine, with encouragement from his mother, who sent him recipes and cookbooks.

When he'd finished a second stint in prison in 2017, Lee opened a restaurant but eventually had to close it due to financial issues.

After that, he worked as a chef at MBox at Mahota Market, where he met Benson Tong.

In January 2026, Tong invited Lee to set up a Western food stall at Ah Chew Coffee House in Woodlands.

When the mixed rice stall there moved out, both men decided to take over the space to establish R&B Cai Fan.

His purpose

Now 53, Lee decided to set up the stall partly to give back to the community, he told Shin Min.

"I'm grateful that after I got out [of prison], people did not judge me but were willing to give me a lot of valuable opportunities," he said. "This is a way for me to repay everyone."

Since the stall's Jun. 15 opening, many people have questioned the economics of the S$7 "buffet" price.

Tong shared that some have jokingly asked if they were running a charity or laundering money, because even the lowest-priced prawns in the wet market are at least S$10 per kg.

But the pair are able to sell their food at an affordable price thanks to their good relationship with suppliers.

The rapport was built up over two decades in the food industry for both Lee and Tong.

They have been able to buy meat and seafood in bulk at prices 30 per cent lower than the market rate through negotiations that also help suppliers manage their problem of import surplus.

Plans for the stall

So far, R&B Cai Fan has received about 90 diners each day during lunch, and the owners have plans to attract more.

The offerings will be constantly updated with new and fresh options, including chilli crab and Peranakan dishes.

Such delicacies have been well received by diners.

A salmon dish they introduced recently was quickly snapped up, Tong said.

To sustain the business, Tong and Lee also decided to have the stall double up as a barbecue and hot pot eatery at night.

From Jul. 15, the space will offer mixed rice at lunch before transforming into R&B Korean BBQ and Steamboat for dinner, according to Shin Min.

Due to rent and the cost of manpower and ingredients, a mixed rice business during lunch was only enough for the business to break even, Tong explained.

The profits from the nights can therefore be used to support the daytime mixed rice business.

Future expansion

Looking ahead, Tong and Lee plan to expand the business gradually and open another branch by the end of 2026.

They plan to target industrial areas, similar to where R&B Cai Fan is located in Woodlands.

They are considering opening a halal stall to appeal to the Muslim community and are currently in talks over a space in Tampines Industrial Park.

R&B Cai Fan

Location: 101 Woodlands Ave 12, #01-06 MR2, S737719

Operating hours: Monday to Friday, 11am to 3pm

A 46-year-old man was arrested for dangerous driving causing hurt after colliding with a 28-year-old motorcyclist.

The incident occurred on Jul. 12 at about 9:40pm at the junction of Kitchener Road and Jalan Besar.

What happened

In a video circulating online, the car was seen entering a junction along Kitchener Road.

According to the video's caption, the car apparently failed to adhere to a red light.

The traffic at the time was in favour of vehicles travelling along Jalan Besar.

A motorcycle travelling along Jalan Besar was seen entering the same junction in the direction of Bencoolen before colliding with the car.

Motorcyclist sent flying

The motorcyclist's helmet and shoes flew off upon impact.

The right side of the car was dented due to the collision.

The motorcyclist was seen grimacing on the road as passersby approached to render aid.

In response to queries from Mothership, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and Singapore Police Force (SPF) said they were alerted to the road traffic accident.

The male motorcyclist was conveyed conscious to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

The male car driver was arrested for dangerous driving causing hurt.

Police investigations are ongoing.

After six years of legal battles, Malaysian politician Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman can finally turn the page after the country's Federal Court upheld his acquittal on graft charges on Jul. 13.

Two of the three judges agreed to dismiss the prosecution's appeal, reported The Malay Mail.

The former youth and sports minister was first charged in 2021 with

• abetting a criminal breach of trust involving RM1 million (S$317,600) of funds from his former party Bersatu's youth wing;
• dishonestly misappropriating RM120,000 (S$38,112) allegedly belonging to the youth wing's company;
• and money laundering

The 33-year-old was convicted at the end of 2023 and sentenced to seven years' jail, two strokes of the cane, and a RM10 million (S$3.17 million) fine.

By 2025, Malaysia's Court of Appeal unanimously voted to acquit Syed Sadiq, prompting the prosecution to appeal the acquittal.

According to The New Straits Times, the Federal Court's judgement agreed with the Court of Appeal's finding that the prosecution had failed to prove the essential elements of the offences.

Future plans

Addressing the media after the trial concluded, Syed Saddiq thanked his fiancée Bella Astillah and hinted that they would soon tie the knot.

He had gotten engaged to the actress-singer in March 2026.

"It’s not easy to be with me as when we hooked up I was found guilty," he was quoted by The Malay Mail as saying.

"However, I have the green light from the elders to proceed but to comment further, I’ll do it out of court."

On his political future, the Muar MP asked for "a little bit of time" before revealing his plans, saying that he first wanted to spend time with his family and get his personal life in order.

However, he added that "the fire to help rebuild Malaysia would never end".

The highly anticipated Jul. 13, 2026 Toto draw, which had a Group 1 prize that snowballed to S$12.81 million, was eventually won by two winning tickets, according to Singapore Pools.

One ticket, a QuickPick System 7 Entry, was sold at A.P. Mini Mart at Block 121 Bedok Reservoir Road.

The other ticket, also a QuickPick System 7 Entry, was a bet placed online.

The top prize amount for the cascade draw was S$12,817,992.

This was after the previous three draws failed to yield any top prize winner.

The winning numbers are 14, 22, 32, 33, 36, 46, with 42 as the additional number.

There were 12 winning shares for the Group 2 prize, with each winning share coming up to S$124,595.

There were 550,854 S$10 Group 7 prizes.

Prizes not claimed by Jan. 9, 2027 will be channelled to donations and grants managed by the Tote Board.

Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien, the French teenager who posted a video of himself licking a straw and returning it to an iJooz vending machine, was due to plead guilty on Jul. 13.

However, the case was adjourned at the prosecution's request.

According to a report by CNA, the prosecution said it was checking with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on whether the 19-year-old's student pass would be cancelled if he is convicted.

The state prosecuting officer said the outcome could affect the prosecution's sentencing position.

The case

The alleged incident took place at about 2pm on Mar. 12 at Goldhill Centre along Thomson Road.

Maximilien had allegedly filmed himself removing a straw from an iJooz vending machine, licking it and placing it back into the dispenser.

He allegedly uploaded the video to his Instagram Story on the same day, where it later went viral.

iJooz later replaced all 500 straws in the dispenser, at the cost of S$5.

Maximilien was subsequently charged on Apr. 24 with one count of mischief and one count of public nuisance.

Student pass and probation discussed in court

According to CNA, the judge asked Maximilien's lawyers about his status in Singapore and the defence's request for probation during the hearing.

The defence said Maximilien is in Singapore on a student pass and is not an exchange student, adding that his programme requires him to be in France from September until the end of 2026.

They said that if he does not complete the overseas stint, he would be unable to complete his course.

When asked how probation would work if Maximilien had to leave Singapore, the defence counsel said the issue could be assessed if the court called for a probation suitability report.

He added that he was working with his client to explore whether Maximilien could return to Singapore for interviews at certain periods if required.

Maximilien's school, ESSEC Business School, had previously said it was aware of the incident and that internal investigations were underway.

In response, the state prosecuting officer said the prosecution was seeking clarification from ICA on whether Maximilien's student pass would be cancelled upon conviction.

She said the outcome could affect the prosecution's sentencing position and requested an adjournment of between four and six weeks while awaiting ICA's response.

She added that the prosecution would not object if the court granted a shorter adjournment.

The court adjourned the matter, with Maximilien's guilty plea now scheduled for Jul. 30.

If found guilty of mischief, one could be jailed for up to two years, fined, or both.

If convicted of public nuisance, one faces a jail term of up to three months, a fine of up to S$2,000, or both.

A Singaporean man, 24, had sex with a girl, 14, and said he would tell her parents he would marry her when she turned 18.

The man, now 26, was sentenced to 22 months' jail.

8world reported that he was sentenced on Jul. 13, 2026, after pleading guilty.

Court documents seen by Mothership stated that there is a gag order on their identities and the accused faced seven charges under the Children and Young Persons Act 1993, as well as the Penal Code 1871.

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

Known each other from young age

The man had known the victim, now 16, from a young age and often spent time at her home to look after her and her siblings.

He also stayed overnight at her home on various occasions and the pair regularly communicated on Telegram.

They grew closer in 2024, where the girl developed romantic feelings for the accused in December 2024 as she felt that he listened to her when she had problems and gave her more attention than anybody else.

Confessed feelings

Sometime in mid-December 2024, the girl confessed to the accused over Telegram that she liked him, to which he asked what she liked about him.

She responded that she liked that he was there for her and listened to her, after which the accused apologised for leading her on by how nice and caring he was.

Court documents noted, however, that he told her a few days later that he similarly had romantic feelings for her.

By January 2025, the pair were then in a romantic relationship and the accused told the girl at some point that, when she turned 18 years old, he would tell her parents that he would marry her.

Inappropriate acts

The pair then engaged in consensual sexual activity on at least three occasions in January 2025 while at the girl's home.

Court documents stated that the first incident occurred that same month after they had confessed their feelings for each other, where they were watching a show in a room in the girl's home.

As the show they were watching included various intimate scenes, the accused felt aroused and kissed the girl on her forehead, after which she kissed him back on his cheek.

After asking her if he could kiss her body, she agreed and he committed an obscene act by touching her inappropriately.

On another occasion in the same month, he committed another obscene act and sexual act.

Another incident took place in the same month where the accused committed a sexual act while in a room at her home.

In addition, the accused also intentionally engaged in sexual communication with the girl between December 2024 and January 2025 for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification.

Medical reports

Following the incidents, a medical report stated that the girl had been afraid to engage in sexual activity with the accused, but did not resist as she was afraid of destroying their relationship.

She also experienced guilt after his offences as she blamed herself for "starting this".

A doctor also said the girl could be diagnosed as having an adjustment disorder.

The medical report additionally noted that the girl's mother observed her becoming more emotional and breaking down frequently as she was reminded about the accused's offences.

Based on a separate medical report, the girl showed symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The report also noted that the girl experienced nightmares, intrusive memories and flashbacks of the accused's offences, as well as heart palpitations, shivers running down her spine, feeling sad and crying when she was reminded of his offences.

In addition, the girl avoided being at home as much as possible since that was the location of the accused's offences.

She also reported getting angry easily with family members, and had difficulties paying attention in class due to intrusive memories and flashbacks of the accused's offences.

The medical report noted that the girl would also check for strangers who stood or walked too close to her in public areas as she feared being harmed by them.

'Serious sexual offences': Prosecution

According to court documents, the prosecution sought a total sentence of 23 to 27 months' jail, stating that the accused's serious sexual offences against the girl must be met with a firm response.

The prosecution also did not object to the sentence being backdated to Nov. 4, 2025, to cover the accused's remand period.

He was first arrested on Feb. 8, 2025, and first produced in court on Nov. 4, 2025.

A surfer has taken to Instagram to call out Scoot, claiming that two of her surfboards were broken in half during a flight from China to Thailand.

The surfer, whose name is Huang Yushan, claimed the airline refused to compensate her because she had signed a limited release tag.

Surfer took Scoot flight to Phuket

Huang told Mothership she travelled on Scoot flight TR119 from Haikou, Hainan, to Phuket on Jul. 9.

The Chinese national said she declared her surfboards as oversized sports equipment at Scoot's check-in counter at Haikou Airport, and paid the required oversized baggage fee.

Huang added that she also requested the airline to label the surfboard bag as “fragile” before it was sent to the cargo hold.

Before checking in, she was asked to sign a Limited Release Tag.

According to Scoot, a Limited Release Tag is issued for baggage accepted on a "limited release" basis, meaning it is carried entirely at the passenger's own risk for damage or delay and is not eligible for damaged or delayed baggage claims.

Claimed that surfboards were fully protected in padded bag

Huang told Mothership that her surfboards were “fully protected inside a thick, padded professional hard-surf travel bag designed for air travel”.

She added that she wrapped them with “extra foam padding at nose and tail” as well to absorb impact.

However, after collecting her oversized baggage at Phuket International Airport, Huang said she discovered that both surfboards had been "cleanly snapped into two separate halves".

She claimed the boards, worth around S$3,645, were completely destroyed and beyond repair.

Airline declined to provide compensation

Huang said she immediately reported the damage to Scoot's baggage service counter at Phuket International Airport.

According to her, airport staff issued a Property Irregularity Report (PIR), with the damage classified as "Major".

However, she claimed the ground staff declined to provide compensation.

According to Huang, staff cited two reasons:

• She had signed the Limited Release Tag at check-in, meaning Scoot would not be liable for any damage.
• She had indicated on the PIR form that she would be claiming through her personal travel insurance.

Therefore, Scoot staff allegedly insisted that she should resolve all losses on her own.

Experience left Huang 'angry & helpless'

Huang said that she then submitted a formal compensation claim to Scoot's baggage department the following day. She also submitted a claim through Scoot's online portal and sent feedback to the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS).

She added that the damaged surfboards disrupted her travel plans in Phuket and Indonesia, causing her financial loss.

"I am extremely angry and helpless with this whole experience. Violent baggage handling that breaks surfboards in half is never a normal travel risk, and the airline must take full responsibility for its staff's negligence.”

Scoot apologises for 'inconvenience caused'

In response to Mothership's queries, a Scoot spokesperson said the airline is aware of Huang's feedback regarding the damage to her surfboards and sincerely apologised for the inconvenience caused.

They declined to provide more details on the case, citing an ongoing investigation, saying only that the airline’s customer service team has been in touch with Huang to “provide assistance”.

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A 69-year-old man in China's Hunan province apparently had his nose bitten off while trying to stop another man from allegedly assaulting a woman in public.

The injured man has since been hailed as a hero for his bravery.

Zeng Fanlin was among a list of individuals recognised by the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission in the second quarter of 2026, the Shenzhen Evening News reported.

Woman assaulted

The incident occurred in a village in April 2026.

A man allegedly caused trouble there suddenly.

His actions included assaulting a woman in public and strangling her, according to 8world.

Upon witnessing this, Zeng immediately intervened and tried to stop him.

Bit off nose

However, the assailant bit Zeng's nose during the struggle, tearing off a chunk of flesh, finance.sina.com reported.

Zeng refused to let go despite the pain and held the suspect until police arrived, with other villagers joining in to help subdue the assailant.

8world reported that the assailant continued to struggle before biting off Zeng's nose and swallowing it.

According to thepaper.cn, the villagers then tied the assailant's feet and managed to subdue him, after which the police arrived and took him into custody.

Almost lost consciousness

Zeng said he initially did not feel anything.

He told local reporters on Apr. 27 that it was only when someone told him about his injury that he touched his nose and realised almost all of it was gone.

Noting that the pain intensified and the bleeding would not stop, Zeng said: "When I got to the hospital, I was in so much pain that I almost lost consciousness."

He was found to have extensive soft tissue loss, which made his injury complex and required significant reconstructive operations.

The Shenzhen Evening News reported that following a detailed treatment plan developed by a hospital, Zeng has since completed the second phase of surgery, with an expected six-month full recovery period.