The 73-year-old man who died following an incident at Block 61 Telok Blangah Heights is remembered as a friendly person who frequented the coffee shop almost daily with his wife.

A 32-year-old man has been arrested and will be charged with murder after he allegedly stabbed the victim at about 6pm that day, according to Lianhe Zaobao.

Another 53-year-old man was also injured in the incident.

2 men covered in blood

According to Zaobao, a coffee shop vendor said he saw the two men, covered in blood, running from the direction of Block 56 towards the coffee shop.

The 73-year-old man appeared to have suffered a stab wound to his right chest and was bleeding heavily.

The other man was believed to have sustained injuries to his head and neck. His yellow shirt was stained with blood around his left shoulder.

Someone at the coffee shop reportedly called the police, while members of the public helped the injured men.

The 73-year-old man was placed on a seat as people tried to stop his bleeding by pressing a cloth against his wound.

However, his condition appeared to worsen before he eventually slumped in the chair, the vendor told Zaobao.

The man was subsequently taken to hospital, where he later died.

Victim was a regular at the coffee shop

Another vendor told Zaobao that the deceased lived nearby and was a friendly person.

He reportedly visited the coffee shop almost every day with his wife, where they would sit quietly and eat.

A 66-year-old retired resident surnamed Liu, who lives at Block 56, told the Chinese newspaper that a friend had seen the deceased sitting near the block's mailbox before the incident.

However, the friend did not know what happened afterwards.

Suspect reportedly remained at scene

The suspect reportedly remained downstairs after the incident, with a knife beside him.

Those interviewed by Zaobao said the man appeared dazed, and some speculated that he might have been under the influence of drugs.

Police investigations are ongoing.

Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit made a triumphant return to Formula 1 over the weekend, after nine years off the schedule.

The race was not without incident, from software glitches to rain delays, but still managed to deliver a memorable race.

Off the track, however, the race was memorable for other reasons, with many of the traditional gripes about the track returning to the fore, but not all.

With the transport situation at the circuit so bad that one Malaysian decided it was more practical to hoof it back to Kuala Lumpur rather than wait, and others compared the first day’s footrace for bus places to scenes from “Train to Busan”, why was the event so chaotic?

Nine-year gap

First things first: the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia is, by most measures, a remarkable achievement.

First announced 10 weeks ago in Jul. 2026, when, due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, it was no longer feasible to hold the Grand Prix in Bahrain.

The plan was to hold Bahrain’s F1 race in Malaysia, meaning that while the race would be physically held at Sepang, the branding and organising would belong almost entirely to Bahrain.

It also meant that a year’s worth of planning had to be done over the span of two and a half months.

Anticipation and difficulties

It is hard to overstate how highly anticipated this race was, and how excited local and international fans were at the news.

The Sepang International Circuit is a unique track, not just because of what is almost universally considered an excellent layout, but also because, unlike many tropical or desert races, it is held entirely during the day, making the running very challenging.

Also, it's Malaysia: torrential rain at any time is always a possibility, meaning that races are often held in less-than-ideal conditions, making racing more exciting.

But for these reasons, the race is also challenging to attend, and towards the end of its tenure, while the race was beloved by those watching on TV, local attendance had dipped to around 40,000 to 50,000.

Total attendance over the whole race weekend saw a record-setting 261,000 spectators, with over 100,000 attendees a day on Saturday and Sunday, as reported by Bernama.

This is considerably higher than even the crowd that shows up for the Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix (MotoGP), which is just shy of 200,000 attendees.

Three-hour waits

F1 fans from across the region and the world took the chance to return to Sepang, and while they were rewarded on the track, it appears the organisers were unprepared for how many of them there were.

Personal testimony shows punters stuck at the circuit as many as 3 hours after the event ended, even on the final race day.

While it was possible to drive to the circuit, parking space was limited and costly, and motorcycles were barred from the circuit.

This essentially left one way out: the buses. (Or walking)

Limited arrangements

Accounts on social media showed some attendees blindsided by the public transport arrangements.

While buses were available, they were not available from the centre of KL, instead going to and from the KLIA Terminal 2 building, where attendees were meant to take the airport train back to KL.

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A post shared by Bahrain International Circuit (@bah_int_circuit)

This is in contrast to the transport arrangements during the 2025 MotoGP, organised by Sepang, which saw shuttle buses heading to KLIA Terminal 2, but also to KLCC, in the heart of the city.

Some attendees of the recent MotoGP events might have expected the same arrangements, but this was, of course, never going to be a like-for-like, due to the aforementioned administrative differences.

Organisers were required to ensure the race was in adequate condition, that the technical facilities for the F1 teams were available, from garages to client hosting facilities.

And by many measures, they did a really good job, with the venue hosting recreations of a Bahraini market, although issues such as a technical glitch and rain delay did pop up.

But when it came to transport, they appear to have fallen short.

Food and water

Transport was not the only source of chaos.

Food and drink became an issue as well, with many Malaysians complaining about the steep price of food at the circuit.

One example from Scoop showed fried rice being sold for RM50 (S$ 15.70), rather than the RM7 (S$2.20) it might have cost elsewhere.

But perhaps the most concerning was the price of water, with bottles reaching RM10 (S$3.14) at the main grandstand area.

Organisers also allegedly prevented attendees from bringing their own water bottles, leading to pictures of piles of discarded water bottles at the entry areas, as reported by The Rakyat Post.

To rub salt into the sunburnt wounds, there appears to have been no shade provided in the areas where attendees were meant to queue for water and food.

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A post shared by Kym Illman F1 (@kymillman)

Suffering from success

Most of the issues appeared to stem from short timelines, unfamiliarity with local conditions, and perhaps most of all, the event suffering from a severe bout of success.

The quality of racing was never in question. It was just that the track was always just a little too far, a little too hot, and a little too uncomfortable to go back to.

So while the race was a must-watch on TV, in-person attendance dwindled.

There remains the lingering worry that what once happened to Sepang might happen again. But even the most hardy pessimist who just witnessed the crowds from this year's Sepang might wonder if attendance could ever dwindle to that extent.

With everyone from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to F1 commentators declaring their love for Sepang, the chances of the track making a permanent return have never been higher. Although, according to ESPN, due to the deals in place, the earliest it could theoretically return is in 2030.

An American skater and content creator recently filmed himself using the Henderson Waves bridge as a skate ramp.

Jimmy Larsen, who makes skate content under the username @offgridskater, posted videos on various social media platforms showing how he skated at Henderson Waves.

View on Threads

 

Using the bridge's high curved and sloping wall as a ramp, he performed various tricks.

This included an ollie, where he leapt into the air with the board without his hands, kicking off from the wall.

He even climbed over the safety railing to access the arch that hangs overhead the bridge, in order to perform a vertical drop.

Henderson Waves is a pedestrian bridge that forms part of the Southern Ridges walking trail, and is the highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore at an elevation of 36 metres.

In a YouTube video, Larsen explained that he got the idea to skate Henderson Waves after watching a similar video "from 14 years ago".

He was in Singapore for only a few hours, flying in from the Philippines en route to Malaysia.

Online reception

Larsen was met with heavy criticism by some members of the public on Threads.

They chided him for being inconsiderate of "shared infrastructure" and pointed out that all wheeled devices, including bicycles and skateboards, were banned on Henderson Waves.

Some others also were shocked that he climbed over the safety railing to perform the trick, given Henderson Waves' height.

One user also posted a photo of what appeared to be a sign from Henderson Waves, stating that skating, skateboarding and cycling are banned on the bridge,

However, on YouTube, where his video was seen mostly by fellow skate enthusiasts around the world, many expressed their admiration at the beauty of the spot.

Larsen's online moniker was coined as he lived off-the-grid in America, meaning that he lived without relying on public utilities such as electricity or water.

Another YouTube video shows his home in a desert in America, where he finds strange or abandoned places to repurpose as skate platforms.

Mothership has reached out to Larsen and the National Parks Board for comment.

A 25-year-old woman was found lying motionless at the foot of Regent Residences, a condominium in the Serangoon and Boon Keng area, on Oct. 4, 2026.

The police confirmed with Mothership that they were alerted to a case of fall from height at 1091 Serangoon Road at about 11:35am.

She 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.

A third Singaporean has been named on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s list of “worst of worst criminal aliens”.

Jing Emtage, 54, was arrested in May 2023 with her husband following an investigation that began in 2021.

She was convicted of operating a prostitution ring disguised as legitimate massage parlours, it was previously reported.

She is held at the an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) processing centre in Washington.

Crimes

Nine massage parlours belonging to the couple were shut down during the two-year operation by authorities.

A total of 23 women who had been trafficked and forced to provide sexual services were rescued.

The Singaporean woman was sentenced to two years and two months' jail on Jul. 25, 2025.

She was charged with seven counts of promoting prostitution in the second degree.

Her husband Gerald Emtage, 49, was given 38 months’ jail for promoting prostitution.

The punishment meted out to both of them includes a 12-month jail term each for money laundering.

Prosecutors said the couple made “significant profits”.

The couple lived in a house that apparently cost more than US$1 million (S$1.28 million).

There were no records of wages being paid to the dozens of women who lived in the massage parlours.

The couple had more than US$600,000 (S$768,000) in cash when arrested.

How she met her husband

The woman ran a massage therapy business in Singapore before moving to the U.S. in January 2018.

While there, she met her husband.

They got married in December 2019, according to her sentencing memorandum, it was reported.

The document said the Covid-19 pandemic caused financial losses for their legitimate massage business.

This caused them to offer illicit services.

The memorandum called for leniency.

Was waiting to be deported

The Seattle branch of ICE posted on social media in August 2026 that the Singaporean was waiting to be deported.

The “worst of worst criminal aliens” list on the Department of Homeland Security website was launched in December 2025.

Amos Yee was the first Singaporean added to the list when it was launched.

He was deported to Singapore in March 2026 after going to jail in the U.S. for child pornography and sexual grooming.

A second Singaporean, Lim Seok Pheng, was added to the list in February 2026.

She was arrested for suspected money laundering.

She then provided information, which led to the prosecution of those who were laundering money for Mexican drug cartels.

A 73-year-old man died at the hospital following an Oct. 5 incident at Block 61 Telok Blangah Heights.

He was found with injuries to his neck and chest area and was bleeding profusely by the time a doctor from a nearby general practitioner clinic attended to him.

A second individual, a 53-year-old man, had a wound on his shoulder and was bleeding, but was still conscious and moving about on his own, the doctor told Mothership.

The incident took place at around 6pm on Oct. 5.

A third individual, a 32-year-old man, later called the police to surrender and was arrested in the vicinity.

53-year-old arrived at clinic with others

Speaking to Mothership, the doctor, Joel Lee, 34, who runs The Local Doctor at 61 Telok Blangah Heights, recounted the events of that evening.

His clinic is located about two units away from the coffee shop under the block, where the 73-year-old was later found.

At the time, Lee had just returned to the clinic to start the 6pm evening shift.

It was a busy evening with a long line of patients.

"I think about maybe... five to seven minutes within a consultation... my staff informed me that somebody was bleeding," Lee recalled. "Then they said it's quite emergent or urgent."

The doctor stepped out with a pair of gloves.

Several others had gathered in the clinic along with his patients.

"So I asked what was happening, who was bleeding? Then one person pointed to a guy who was standing there," Lee shared.

It was the 53-year-old man.

Lee found him with a wound on his left shoulder, and he was using a cloth or towel to stem the bleeding.

"When I asked him, he said, 'Oh, it's okay. There's somebody else who's worse than he was at the coffee shop'," the doctor added.

The doctor gave him some medical instructions, but said he was "not a priority" at that point.

73-year-old man bleeding profusely

Lee was then led to the nearby coffee shop to the 73-year-old.

It was crowded at the time, but there was no panic despite the scene.

"Everybody was just around," he recalled.

"So when I reached, I saw that there was somebody holding onto [the 73-year-old's] chest already, and his hands were just slumped already," Lee said, adding that the man was bleeding "quite profusely".

According to the doctor, the 73-year-old had injuries to his chest and neck area.

He asked the man some questions, such as if he was okay or how he was feeling, but the man was unable to respond verbally.

"He was only nodding and sort of shaking his head, but not really coherently. He was just trying to tell me he was in distress," Lee said.

"So, by the time I got there, he was really in a very compromised state," Lee said.

The man was no longer bleeding, which the doctor said could either mean that the man had already loss a lot of blood or that the blood pressure was dropping.

It was also possible that it was not as bad a puncture, although the wound was "quite big", Lee said.

"The main thing is I wanted to get him down as early as possible to maintain his blood pressure," the doctor explained.

Lee instructed a person who was helping the man to continue applying pressure on the wound and his clinic staff to help with some medical equipment for an IV drip.

Ambulance arrives

Shortly afterward, an ambulance arrived.

Up to this point, the man was still conscious.

However, he was beginning to slump in the chair if he was left with no support, the doctor said.

As the man was lifted onto the stretcher, he was falling over by himself and "almost out", the doctor added.

When the paramedics did not feel a pulse, Lee suggested that they commence cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

However, the leads on the automated external defibrillator (AED) detected a pulse, Lee shared.

He then tried to run an IV drip for the man and said he needed to go to the hospital immediately.

Lee said he saw that the 53-year-old was being attended to by two other paramedics.

He gave the 53-year-old a thumbs up and the man responded by saying he was okay.

According to Lee, the 53-year-old was able to move about and talk.

His bleeding also appeared to be under control.

"He was just waiting for the paramedic on his own. Then he was just walking around there," the doctor recounted.

When asked how he felt at that moment, Lee said he was just focused on rendering assistance.

He conveyed his condolences to the family of the deceased.

The doctor also pointed out that this was the second incident in the neighbourhood in eight or nine months, with the previous being a fire that destroyed the coffee shop.

During the fire, Lee also stepped up to help triage the injured.

73-year-old died at the hospital

According to the Singapore Police Force, the 73-year-old man later died at the hospital.

The 53-year-old was conscious when conveyed to the hospital.

Coffee shop patrons whom Mothership spoke to on Oct. 6 morning said they were not privy to what happened the evening before.

The man running the mixed rice stall at the coffee shop surmised that the altercation might have taken place elsewhere in the vicinity before the two men arrived at the coffee shop area to seek help.

In a video circulating on TikTok of the aftermath of the incident, a police cordon could be seen set up around the premises of the coffee shop.

Some splatters of blood and blood-stained tissue paper could also be seen on the ground.

32-year-old to be charged with murder

A third individual, a 32-year-old man, was arrested by the police on Oct. 5.

He had called the authorities that same evening to surrender.

He will be charged in court for murder on Oct. 7.

Cases involving eight public service officers have been referred to the police as the Singapore government reviews property purchases made by officers involved in rail planning, following allegations raised in a study.

The study was a working paper by the American non-profit National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), which claimed to have identified a pattern of mid-level Singapore civil servants purchasing homes near MRT stations before their locations were publicly announced.

8 public officers referred to police

Speaking in Parliament on Oct. 6, 2026, Coordinating Minister for Public Services Chan Chun Sing said the government has reviewed property transactions involving 191 officers so far, with further checks ongoing.

For each transaction, Singapore's Public Service Division (PSD) examined available records, including the officer’s role at the time, whether the officer had access to relevant non-public information, the timing and circumstances of the transaction, and other relevant information.

Eight cases have been referred to the police.

However, Chan quickly clarified that the referrals do not mean wrongdoing has been established.

"The police will look into the facts independently, and due process will be followed," he said.

Safeguards against misuse of information

In response to questions from MPs regarding the safeguards against misuse of non-public government information, Chan said the public service code of conduct sets out that officers must never use information obtained through their official duties to advance their own private interests or those of others.

The unauthorised use or disclosure of official information may also constitute an offence, depending on the circumstances, he said.

There are also several layers of safeguards in place.

First, access to sensitive information is controlled, with officers given access on a need-to-know basis, said Chan.

Such information is subject to security classification and handling requirements, system and physical access controls, as well as audit monitoring and other project- or department-specific safeguards where appropriate.

Chan added that there are also declaration and approval requirements governing officers' personal interests and transactions.

Since the 1990s, all officers have been required to declare purchases of private property, as well as any non-owner-occupied properties they hold.

These requirements have been progressively tightened over the years.

When officers possess non-public information relevant to a transaction they intend to make, they must seek approval from the head of their agency before proceeding.

This requirement is not limited to property transactions

It also applies to other personal transactions where an officer possesses relevant non-public information.

The requirements also extend to transactions involving officers’ spouses and financially dependent children.

Agencies that handle particularly sensitive information can also impose additional requirements based on the risks involved, Chan said.

He cited the Singapore Land Authority as an example, noting that it requires officers in the relevant department to declare to human resources any sale of property or land by themselves, their spouses, or financially dependent children.

This supplements the existing requirement for all public officers to declare purchases of private property.

Review of safeguards

According to Chan, the government would assess what the current review reveals about the effectiveness of the existing safeguards and whether there are gaps that need to be addressed.

"Any further measures should be proportionate to the risk and practical to implement, while allowing legitimate personal transactions to proceed with appropriate oversight," he said.

However, he noted that even with strong safeguards in place, no system can eliminate the possibility of wrongdoing entirely.

"We must therefore continue to reduce the opportunities for abuse, maintain effective means of detection, and act firmly where evidence of wrongdoing emerges," he said.

"Where the facts disclose grounds for concern, we will refer them to the appropriate authorities.

Where wrongdoing is established, we will act firmly.

We will also learn from this episode.

If the review or subsequent investigation reveals gaps in our safeguards, we will strengthen them."

"This is how we will continue to uphold the high standards of integrity expected of our Singapore public service, and maintain the trust that Singaporeans place on us," Chan said.

Findings of the review will be published where relevant

In response to Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC MP Alex Yam's question on how long the review will take and if the government plans to release its report, Chan said they aim to complete the review as soon as possible.

"If there are findings pertinent to (the matter), if there are findings that are relevant, we will publish them in full," he said.

Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC MP Elysa Chen also asked if the government had identified other avenues through which public officers could make investments using sensitive government information, and whether measures were in place to detect potential breaches.

Chan said the government takes the same approach to all transactions involving sensitive information: Public officers should not use non-public information for personal gain.

This applies whether they are financial transactions, property transactions, or otherwise.

He added that the NBER working paper had made certain assertions based on a statistical association.

"At this point in time, we have not concluded whether any wrongdoing or especially any criminal offences have been committed," he said.

Greater weight should be given to deterrence when sentencing young offenders involved in scam-related offences, rather than treating rehabilitation as the primary consideration because of their age, said K Shanmugam, who is Senior Minister, Minister for Home Affairs and Coordinating Minister for National Security. 

Speaking in Parliament on Oct. 6, 2026, Shanmugam said scams are now the most prevalent crime type in Singapore, with more than 1,000 young people investigated in connection with scam reports in 2025.

He noted that while young offenders may warrant greater consideration for rehabilitation, he said this must be balanced against the impact of scams on victims, particularly elderly victims.

More than 5,000 elderly people were victims of scams in 2025, with losses from these cases amounting to about S$200 million, he said.

Most important principal is deterrence: Shanmugam

Shanmugam said deterrence was the most important sentencing principle for scam-related offences.

"There are two aspects to this," he said. "First, to deter the person from doing it again, and second, to deter everyone else from doing it, then fewer people will lose their life savings."

He acknowledged that young people generally deserve greater emphasis on rehabilitation, but said the government had made a deliberate policy decision that deterrence and prevention should carry greater weight in scam-related cases.

"This is because rehabilitation of the individual offender has to be balanced against the need to deter others from facilitating scams and thereby prevent many more people from becoming victims," he explained.

Shanmugam noted that current sentencing guidelines recommend imprisonment or reformative training for offenders convicted of scam-related offences, including those below 21, except those dealt with in the youth courts.

Though the progressive implementation of measures over the past three years have seen a decline in scam losses, scammers have continued to adapt and find ways around existing measures.

"So this is certainly not the time to go soft," Shanmugam said.

Young offenders still have to be held responsible

Shanmugam added that while an offender’s age remained relevant, individuals had to be held responsible, particularly when they understood that their actions were wrong.

He cited the case of an 18-year-old who was offered S$800 to open and hand over a bank account.

Another account was subsequently opened using the details, and a 66-year-old scam victim transferred almost S$200,000 into it.

The High Court had ultimately decided that probation was an appropriate sentence for the teenager.

The ruling was made by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Justice Ang Cheng Hock and Justice Hoo Sheau Peng, who had allowed four young offenders successful appeals, and ordered probation instead of the original reformative training.

Quoting the decision, Shanmugam said that this was because, among other reasons, that "the primary sentencing consideration for young offenders will generally or presumptively be rehabilitation".

But he continued: "This rationale by the High Court contradicts the approach set out in their sentencing advisory guidelines."

"It is understandable for the court... looking at the individual young offenders in front of them, to feel sympathy for those individuals, and be inclined to impose rehabilitative sentences on youth offenders," he said.

"However, the court did not have before it the policy perspectives that I've just laid out, nor the data on the scale of the problem of scams and scammers, the huge amount of losses through scams, and the full human cost of such scams, but the government has to consider the wider consequences."

For one, if Singapore is lenient towards scammers and those who facilitate scams, many more will fall victim, including senior citizens who may lose their entire life savings, the senior minister said.

If young offenders are treated more leniently simply because of their age, scam syndicates could also have greater incentive to recruit young people as money mules.

"We cannot and will not allow this to happen," he emphasised.

Shanmugam said the government respected the court’s views but would give effect to the policy position he had outlined.

"[...] We will table legislation in Parliament soon," he continued.

Caning introduced for scam offences in late 2025

In November 2025, the government introduced caning for scammers and scam mules as a penalty under the Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill.

People convicted of committing scams can be sentenced to at least six strokes of the cane.

Members of and recruiters for organised criminal groups can also face at least six strokes if they knew the group was a scam syndicate.

To deny scammers the tools that enable them to carry out and profit from scams, money mules who facilitate scams can also face discretionary caning.

A 61-year-old man has been sentenced to three weeks in jail after using a spare key to enter his female tenant's room twice while she was abroad and engaged in indecent acts with her underwear.

A surveillance camera that the tenant had placed inside the room after she grew uncomfortable with his previous behaviour captured his actions.

The man is a Filipino national and a Singapore permanent resident who lived in an HDB flat with his wife and daughter, reported Shin Min Daily News.

He faced five charges, including trespassing, outrage of modesty, and mischief.

He pleaded guilty to two of them, with the remaining charges taken into consideration for sentencing.

There is a gag order placed on the victim, a 47-year-old Filipino woman, to protect her identity.

Entered her room twice

The victim was reportedly away in her home country from Jul. 22 to Aug. 19, 2024.

Having previously felt uncomfortable with the defendant's behaviour, she had installed a surveillance camera under her bed before leaving.

Upon learning that the victim was away, the landlord used a key to unlock her room at 5:53pm on Aug. 3, 2024.

He then took a set of underwear from her wardrobe and reportedly masturbated in the room.

The victim was shocked upon viewing the footage on the camera remotely and asked a colleague to move the camera onto the table the next day, Shin Min reported.

About two weeks later, on Aug. 17, the landlord was aroused after watching pornography and trespassed into the victim's room again.

There, he sniffed her underwear and masturbated.

This was also captured on camera.

Upon returning to Singapore on Aug. 19, the victim immediately set about looking for a new place to live and moved out on Sep. 20.

She filed a police report the following day.

Close to 13,000 travellers and 350 vehicles were checked, and over 14,000 pieces of luggage and hand-carry bags were scanned or searched during a multi-agency enforcement operation across Singapore’s land, air, and sea checkpoints between Sep. 22 and 28, 2026.

The operation was conducted by the Singapore Police Force (SPF), Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and Singapore Customs (Customs) as part of ongoing efforts to detect and enforce against non-compliance with Singapore’s cross-border cash reporting and other illegal cross-border activities.

During the week-long operation, enhanced checks were conducted on travellers and vehicles at the checkpoints.

Carrying cash exceeding S$20,000

Seven travellers were detected carrying cash exceeding S$20,000 or its equivalent in foreign currencies into Singapore without making the required declarations:

On Sep. 22, a 46-year-old male foreign traveller attempted to bring S$31,000 into Singapore without declaration.

On Sep. 23, a 40-year-old female foreign traveller attempted to bring approximately S$51,000 into Singapore without declaration.

On Sep. 27, a 44-year-old male foreign traveller attempted to bring approximately S$23,800 into Singapore without declaration.

On Sep. 28, four travellers attempted to bring in cash totalling approximately S$96,400 into Singapore.

Two 41-year-old male foreign travellers carrying S$30,000 and S$20,400 respectively, and a 51-year-old female traveller and a 52-year-old male foreign traveller carrying approximately S$46,000 collectively.

Warnings and fines issued

Of these seven travellers, two were issued notices of warning, and three were issued composition fines amounting to S$13,000 in total.

The remaining two travellers had their cash seized for further investigations.

Members of the public are reminded that it is a statutory requirement to report the cross-border physical movement of cash or bearer negotiable instruments if the total value exceeds S$20,000.

The money in foreign currency must also be declared.

Travellers must submit a declaration electronically within 72 hours before entering or leaving Singapore through the MyICA mobile app or via ICA’s website.

Failure to report or to accurately report the movement of cash or bearer negotiable instruments exceeding S$20,000 is an offence punishable under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992.

Offenders are liable to be fined up to S$50,000 or imprisoned for a term of up to three years, or both.

A confiscation order may also be issued for any part of the cash, in relation to which the offence was committed.

Other travellers caught

A total of 60 travellers were caught for failing to declare and pay taxes on cigarettes and/or tobacco products, liquors exceeding their duty-free concession, and goods exceeding their Goods and Services Tax (GST) import relief.

The total duty and GST evaded amounted to S$7,810 and S$17,705 in composition sums were imposed.

The cases included a traveller carrying multiple packages of mooncakes, two boxes of birthday cakes, and a money bouquet intended for commercial purposes.

The traveller was stopped at Tuas Checkpoint.

Another traveller was stopped at Changi Airport with undeclared luxury bags for personal use.

A third traveller had undeclared jewellery for personal use.

All offences were compounded.

Under the Customs Act, any person found guilty of fraudulent evasion of duty or GST shall be fined up to 20 times the amount of duty and GST evaded.

In addition to the fine, offenders shall be liable to imprisonment for up to 12 months.

Advisory

Travellers are encouraged to declare and make payment for such goods up to three days before arrival using the Customs@SG Web Application, which is also available on the MyICA mobile app.

Travellers may also use the Customs Declaration Kiosks located at the air, land and sea checkpoints and terminals, to declare and make payment for their goods on arrival.

All cigarettes and tobacco products must comply with the standardised packaging requirements.

Non-compliant products will be disposed of at the checkpoints.