The Lunar New Year is arriving soon but unfortunately one segment of the population will not be able to make it back home for reunion dinner — migrant workers.
In the spirit of acceptance and giving in the festive period, the short film highlights the existing troubles Singapore's migrant workers have integrating in wider society. After all, the video's supported by the National Integration Council.
After chaos struck Hilton Hotel last December when a false ceiling over its main entrance collapsed, the hotel management is taking steps to permanently fix their facade.
Four people were rushed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital on the afternoon of Dec 13 after the false ceiling over the hotel's driveway collapsed following a bout of heavy rain.
The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) has since assured that the hotel along Orchard Road will be progressively replacing the ceiling with perforated metal false ceiling. They attributed the collapse to the deterioration of connections supporting the ceiling system, which led to uneven distribution of load that in turn caused the whole thing to fall apart.
Major changes are coming to Singapore's beloved den of subculture — The Substation. The art centre's new artistic director Alan Oei is now at the helm, and he wants to transform the establishment into a respectable "research and development space".
Artist residency programmes, exhibitions and a stricter focus on the arts are being lined up in Oei's vision for The Substation — but that vision isn't exactly being shared by many in the music scene.
The Substation has always been the steadfast, go-to venue for live music for years, a non-prejudiced space for hosting all sorts gigs — whether big or small, international artists or local newbies. It's a place where punks, metalheads, hipsters and sonic experimentalists can call home.
Pest control is serious business, and hi-tech armaments are always welcome in any occupation.
PestBusters agents will soon be able to annihilate rats and bugs more efficiently with the help of drones and body cameras. TODAY reports that the company is tapping on new technology to upgrade the productivity of their employees, which will in turn translate to higher wages for them.
One example where they can deploy new tech toys is during roof gutter monitoring, where they can just fly a drone for inspections. Drones can also be useful in jobs such as spraying insecticides on bee hives.
Self-proclaimed pickup artist and all-round asshole Roosh V is one of the bigwigs in the movement of misogyny, publishing utterly vitriolic works and supporting sentiments that men are inherently superior to women.
Even after writing an article that called for the legalisation of rape (he later claims it was satirical), you'd be surprised that he garnered an international following, even in Singapore. Apparently, his supporters are meant to have a gathering this Saturday, Feb 6, as part of an international meetup day.
Other than simply looking cute, what else can three chow chows who've had their fur dyed to look like panda bears do?
Why, get pimped out by their human masters for financial gain of course!
Not only do these panda-looking dogs (pandogs?) actually exist, but they're the main product of Panda Chow Chows, an enterprise that rents them out to any stranger who's willing to fork out the cash. Yessirree, take photos with them in a Sentosa studio, have a day out with them at Singaporean locales or even have the dogs attend your parties, weddings and corporate events!
It's the first Saturday of the month and you know what that means — Pedestrian Night at Orchard Road. The party is taking over the streets and roads of the shopping district once again in the theme of "Movie Night", though it's unclear if they're screening films or just featuring pop culture cosplay.
As always, Orchard Road (between Scotts Road and Bideford Road) and the carriageway of Mount Elizabeth (between Nutmeg Road and Orchard Road) will be closed to all vehicular traffic. Entry is only granted to police and emergency vehicles; all other wheels will be towed.
Bus services will be diverted as well during the period from 6pm to 11pm.
It ain't a proper Chinese New Year celebration without proper raw fish in your Yusheng platter — but with the bacterial scare and all, the ban seems necessary.
Luckily, 21 foodstalls and caterers have been given the green light by the National Environmental Agency (NEA) to sell ready-to-eat raw fish dishes using saltwater fish. According to Senior Minister of State for Health Amy Khor, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) have even been engaging suppliers to ensure sufficient levels of saltwater fish to be used for the dishes.
In a posthumous conferment, the late founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew has been awarded one of Japan's top honours for foreign leaders.
The nation's first prime minister's legacy grows even further, being the 19th foreigner to receive the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers. Lee joins a prestigious list of recipients that includes celebrated American five-star general Douglas MacArthur and many other political luminaries.
The order recognises Lee's endeavours to strengthen relations with Japan, and his successful efforts in building a friendship between the two nations, according to various media reports. The conferment itself will be forwarded to March 23, 2016 — the first anniversary of his death.
A dispute about money between a Singaporean man and his Vietnamese girlfriend escalated into a full-blown crackdown by the Vietnamese SWAT team when he decided to keep her hostage.
41-year-old Eng Yong Kit has been arrested in Ho Chi Minh City yesterday for locking his 24-year-old girlfriend in a hotel room, Thanh Nien News reported. The man will be charged with illegally detaining a person against their will.
The city's police received a tip-off about keeping the woman in a hotel room in District 3 around 1pm. Hotel staff had failed to diffuse the situation, and further attempts by the police to convince him to release the woman proved to be unsuccessful as well.
Most would agree that driving on Singapore roads is especially frustrating due to the amount of Class-A reckless pricks who make up a big portion of the motorist population.
That's why we need more folks like Ong Weijun, a motorcyclist who's just trying to make life a little more easier for drivers here. Riding on the way to Bugis, he took the initiative to move a trolley that had gone astray on the bus lane, which prevented a serious blockage on the busy Eu Tong Sen Street. A small, minor gesture for sure, but one that proves not all Singapore road users are the assholes they're painted to be. Bless him and his iMovie skills.
Sure, it'll be the Year Of The Monkey soon enough, but this stunt wasn't meant to be festive at all. The Night Safari received a rude shock recently when bags of caged-up exotic animals were simply abandoned outside their gates.
The Wildlife Reserves Singapore recounted in a dismaying Facebook post about the latest case of caged animals — some of which are critically endangered — being dumped by their doorstep. Prairie dogs, marmosets and cotton-top tamarins were left at the Night Safari service gate, just a few of the hundred of illegal pets that arrive at their Wildlife Reserves park in similar manner.
"They were probably meant for the illegal pet trade but something must have gone wrong and the perpetrators decided to dump the animals," they wrote.
Ah well, just when one motorist gave hope for courtesy on Singaporean roads, a new story about an inconsiderate prick of a driver rears its head.
Oh, and of course he drives a BMW. Of course.
Motorcyclist Carrine Yeo narrated her encounter with a particularly pugnacious BMW driver, who had found no issue with parking on three whole motorcycle lots at a car park opposite Ghim Moh Market. If that wasn't douchey enough, the "skinny bespectacled Chinese man in his late fifties" arrogantly denied that he was parking, and warned Yeo that he was a civil servant.
With all the hullabaloo surrounding steaming twatwaffle Roosh V and his plan to hold simultaneous assemblies of his followers worldwide, backlash has prompted him to cancel the planned meetups.
Supporters of the notorious pickup artist — who claimed to be satirical in his article about legalizing rape— were supposed to convene in 43 different countries on Feb 6 for "tribal meetings". The gathering for the (probably minuscule) Singaporean legion had been set at Fort Canning Park, underneath the big arch at 8pm.
Following increased publicity and expected reprisal on the assembly of assholes, Roosh-the-douche has decided to abort the whole thing.
A love for manga sparked a romance between a young Singaporean woman and a Romanian teenager. The love affair however proved to be pretty damn bizarre.
25-year-old Cheryl Yap Lay Leng brought her mother along with her to Romania, along with about $50,000 in funds. All without telling her father, who came home one day last month, finding no trace of both women. Their passports were gone too.
The 59-year-old taxi driver dad had even lodged a police report about the sudden disappearance of his wife and daughter, according to The New Paper, fearing that they fell victim to scammers. He found out from his daughter's credit card statement that she bought flight tickets to Romania.
With a multitude of conflicting reports about the tragic death of 14-year-old Benjamin Lim, his family members have presented their side of the story, of which The Online Citizen has published in full.
Some context — the boy was found dead at the foot of his HDB block in an apparent suicide, just hours after he was released from police interrogation over allegations of molesting a girl. That morning, policemen pulled him out of school and brought him for questioning at Ang Mo Kio Police Headquarters. He was alone throughout the interrogation, and was not allowed to see his mother.
Amidst growing reprisal against the consumption of shark fin, a survey carried out by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) revealed that most Singaporeans believe that the government is not doing enough to protect the species.
Traditionally served as a luxury Chinese dish at special occasions such as wedding and banquets, the demand for it has decreased of recent years. Over half of the respondents claim that they ate less shark fin in the past year, while 82 percent of them think that alternatives to shark fin are completely acceptable.
"It is clear we are experiencing a cultural change where preservation of our ocean resources and conservation of the shark species is becoming more important to the majority of the public than the traditional value of shark fin soup," says WWF-Singapore CEO Elaine Tan.
A perpetual molester got himself thrown behind bars once again after his latest bout of perverse deeds — outraging the modesty of a fellow Batam ferry passenger.
53-year-old Tan Yew Song has since been sentenced to eight months in jail for touching the buttocks of his female victim three times throughout the journey. TODAY reports that he served multiple jail sentences in the past for molest, dating back to 1983.
Nine fatal workplace accidents recorded last month alone is nine cases too much, and the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has decided to really step up their enforcement efforts on safety.
The recent spate of fatal workplace accidents have prompted the ministry to double down on inspections, focusing on supervisory practices, quality of worker's training and adequacy of risk management. In the coming four weeks, a total of 500 workplaces across the island will be inspected to ensure that safety and health standards are being maintained.
"Most of these accidents could have been prevented with proper risk assessment and effective implementation of preventive measures," said Commissioner for Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Er. Ho Siong Hin. "Every worker is entitled to a safe workplace and employers have the responsibility to provide it."
The underground Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange hasn't seen any major renovation for eons, and you just know that if you stayed there for more than a couple of hours you'd either choke (because it gets so musty sometimes) or contract some pulmonary problems (due to all the bus exhaust).
Bless the interchange for having all the buses we need to get anywhere around the island, but honestly it does need some sprucing up. After standing strong and solid for 20 years, the interchange will finally see a proper refurbishment that the Land Transport Authority (LTA) says will be completed by 2019.
