All it wanted was some food, but one bat became the unwitting star of a viral video when it was caught red-handed engaging in some “bat” behaviour at an NTUC FairPrice outlet.
The crime? Stealing bites from a bunch of bananas in plain sight.
The store, located at 345 Jurong East St 31, has since discarded all affected fruits and moved all its fruits inside the store, NTUC FairPrice said in a statement on today (Oct 16).
The 15-second clip of the bat chowing down was uploaded to Facebook page All Singapore Stuff this morning, where it garnered over 800 shares at the time of writing.
Guess it means these bananas ripe and sweet already. Can buy liao
SINGAPORE – A youth was sentenced on Friday (Oct 16) to a year’s probation after he admitted to sharing obscene films with other members in the SG Nasi Lemak Telegram group chat that hosted upskirt images.
As part of his sentence, Justin Lee Han Shi, 20, must remain indoors from 11pm to 6am every day and perform 40 hours of community service.
His parents were bonded for $5,000 to ensure his good behaviour.
Lee had pleaded guilty last month to an offence under the Films Act, admitting that he was in possession of more than 400 obscene films last year.
He was among four Singaporeans arrested last October in islandwide raids that brought down the group chat.
The other three are: Leonard Teo Min Xuan, 27; Liong Tianwei, 38; and a 17-year-old boy, who can no longer be named in news reports because of recent amendments to the Children and Young Persons Act.
The law now covers those below 18 years old. The cases against the trio are still pending.
The group had about 44,000 members when it was active, and used the platform to share obscene photos and videos of women in Singapore.
One wrong step could spell tragedy for this calico cat that found its way to a neighbouring household via the kitchen window, nine floors above ground.
The owner of said cat is being reprimanded on Facebook for their oversight that allowed the feline to climb out the window and hop on over to the unit next door twice in less than 12 hours.
Volunteer animal rescue service Haus Of Furries urged the cat’s owner to take adequate safety precautions lest the pet falls to its own death at an HDB block along Canberra Street.
According to a Facebook post on Wednesday (Oct 14), the calico had been frequenting a neighbour’s window of late. Pictures snapped earlier this week showed the cat perched outside the window, with one image depicting the cat balancing itself precariously on the clothes drying rack.
The sight of a parking officer checking out his vehicle made a man so angry, he tried to shame the officer online.
But his tirade didn’t sit well with netizens, who called him out for being xenophobic and a bully.
According to his video, reshared onto Facebook page ROADS.sg this morning (Oct 16), the man had taken issue with the parking officer approaching his car, assuming that he would be issued a summon. PHOTO：Screengrab/Facebook via ROADS.sgThe officer upon seeing that the man’s car had been parked in the loading and unloading bay near Block 630 of an HDB estate, had come to see if the owner had exceeded the time limit permitted.
Despite explaining that he had not issued any summon (and wasn’t going to), the man continued to berate him for dishing one out. Things heated up and the man demanded to know who was the officer’s employer and what his nationality was.
He said to the officer: “Who ask you to summon? Are you permanent resident or work permit[sic]?”
SINGAPORE: The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) collected S$53.5 billion in tax revenue in financial year (FY) 2019/20, up 2.1 per cent from the previous year.
The sum makes up 72 per cent of the Government’s operating revenue and 10.5 per cent of Singapore’s gross domestic product, said IRAS in its annual report released on Friday (Oct 16).
A breakdown of Singapore tax revenue for FY2019/20. (Graphic: IRAS)
Total income taxes – comprising corporate income tax, individual income tax and withholding tax – made up more than half (57 per cent) of the total collection. The S$30.8 billion collected in FY19/20 was 4.8 per cent more than total income taxes from the previous year.
Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection for FY2019/20 increased “marginally” by 0.2 per cent to S$11.2 billion. GST accounted for 21 per cent of total tax collection.
While property tax collection went up, stamp duty collection fell almost 9 per cent. IRAS attributed this to a decrease in the number of property transactions.
“The cost of tax collection was kept low under one cent, at 0.78 cents for every dollar collected,” said IRAS.
“Tax arrears rate remained low at 0.79 per cent. Current year arrears for Income Tax, GST and Property Tax fell to S$357 million, from S$373 million in FY2018/19.”
SUPPORT DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC
IRAS said it continues to support the Government in its administration of assistance schemes – the Wage Credit Scheme, Jobs Support Scheme, Government Cash Grant and Jobs Growth Incentive. Through these schemes, S$18 billion in grants have been disbursed so far this year.
These grants “help businesses and Singaporeans tide through this period of economic uncertainty caused by COVID-19,” said IRAS.
DIGITAL SERVICES
In its report, the tax authority also drew attention to an increasing use of digital services to “make taxpaying more seamless and hassle-free”.
IRAS said for last year’s tax assessment, around 1,600 taxi and private car hire drivers used a chat filing scheme involving Q&A forms with “conversational language”, as well as interactive chatbots.
“The conversational approach of chat filing helps to simplify e-Filing process for the less digitally-inclined taxpayers … (it) mimics the experience of having an officer guide them through their filing,” said IRAS.
“70 per cent of the sample users surveyed found tax filing with the chatbot more intuitive, and reported that they spent 60 per cent less time filing their returns.”
IRAS also highlighted several other initiatives to simplify tax filing: An interactive property tax bill (i-Bill), touted as an “upgrade” from the current e-Bill, as well as simpler tax filing process for companies, a result of an IRAS collaboration with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority and several accounting software providers.
Around 200,000 companies are expected to benefit from this initiative, said IRAS.
Moving forward, most paper notices and letters will be digitised by default, IRAS added. This will take place from May next year.
“IRAS is pursuing digital transformation with vigour, driven by our goals to provide taxpayers with excellent service and to improve tax compliance,” said Mr Ng Wai Choong, CEO and Commissioner of Inland Revenue.
Barely a week after it opened to the public, a dinosaur at Changi Jurassic Mile has become the casualty of some overenthusiastic visitors.
A young woman had climbed onto a hatchling that was emerging from its egg, and was seen gleefully rocking the exhibit and posing for the camera.
After her antics were shared on TikTok and later reposted on Facebook on Thursday (Oct 15), netizens called the visitor out on her inconsiderate behaviour.
Several of them asked whether visitors are allowed to ride on the dinosaurs while others lamented “This is why we can’t have nice things.” PHOTO: FacebookSharp-eyed netizens also noticed that the dinosaur in the clip has lost some of its teeth and suggested slapping fines on those caught vandalising the outdoor exhibits.
However, it is unclear if the woman in the video is linked with the reptile’s missing teeth.
SINGAPORE – While the goods and services tax (GST) rate will remain at 7 per cent next year, the rate increase cannot be deferred indefinitely as the revenues are needed to support Singapore’s spending needs to secure its long-term future, said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat on Thursday (Oct 15).
“We will continue to study the timing of increasing the GST rate carefully, taking into account the pace of our economic recovery, our revenue outlook and how much spending we can defer to later years without jeopardising our long-term needs,” he told Parliament in a speech to round up the debate on the Government’s Covid-19 strategy.
Mr Heng noted that GST collections this year are projected to be down by 14 per cent from initial estimates before the start of the year, mainly due to travel disruptions and the impact of the circuit breaker period.
Collection of GST is also expected to stay lower than usual for a few more years, until international travel recovers fully, he added.
SINGAPORE: Ten people were arrested and more than 2,600 cartons of contraband cigarettes were seized in several operations across the island last week, the Singapore Customs said on Friday (Oct 16).
In two of the operations, the authorities raided two Housing Board units at King George’s Avenue and Serangoon North Avenue 4 that were used for storage and peddling of duty-unpaid cigarettes.
Two Singaporean men and a male Chinese national were arrested. Authorities also confiscated 639 cartons and 20 packets of contraband cigarettes.
Contraband cigarettes seized from two Housing Board units. (Photos: Singapore Customs)
In three other operations conducted at Kang Ching Road in Jurong West, Eunos Industrial Park and Realty Park in Hougang, Singapore Customs officers foiled attempts made to retrieve shipments of duty-unpaid cigarettes.
The cigarettes were concealed in places such as a metal oven, wooden shelves and an air purifier unit. Two male Chinese nationals and a Singaporean woman were arrested, and 1,596 cartons and 5,942 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes were seized.
Duty-unpaid cigarettes were concealed in wooden shelves. (Photos: Singapore Customs)
Four Singaporeans were arrested at two other raids at Yishun Ring Road and Jurong West Street 93.
The three men and one woman were apprehended for storing and delivering duty-unpaid cigarettes. Singapore Customs officers also confiscated 369 cartons and 908 packets of cigarettes.
Court proceedings against four of the men and one of the women are ongoing. Investigations are ongoing for the remaining four men and one woman.
Duty-unpaid cigarettes found concealed in an air purifier unit that was sent to Realty Park. (Photos: Singapore Customs)
In all, a total of 2,604 cartons and 6,870 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes and a vehicle were seized during the operations, which took place from Oct 5 to Oct 9.
The duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST) evaded amounted to about S$293,700 and S$23,590 respectively.
“Buying, selling, conveying, delivering, storing, keeping, having in possession or dealing with duty-unpaid goods are serious offences under the Customs Act and the GST Act,” said Singapore Customs in a media release.
A vehicle used to storage and deliver duty-unpaid cigarettes at Yishun Ring Road. (Photo: Singapore Customs)
Those found guilty can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty and GST evaded and/or jailed for up to six years. Vehicles used in the commission of such offences are also liable to be forfeited.
Members of public with information on smuggling activities or evasion of Customs duty or GST can call the Singapore Customs hotline at 1800-2330000 or use the Customs@SG mobile app to make a report.
SINGAPORE – One of the seven people linked to the high-profile Orchard Towers murder in July last year has been given a conditional warning.
Mr Chan Jia Xing, 27, was originally charged, along with six others, with the murder last year of Mr Satheesh Noel Gobidass, 31. His charge was later reduced to that of consorting with a person carrying an offensive weapon in a public place.
On Thursday (Oct 15) afternoon, however, Mr Chan was given a conditional warning. This means that he will have to refrain from any criminal conduct for a year. If he commits an offence within this period, he can be prosecuted again for the consorting charge and for the new offence.
A conditional warning does not amount to a conviction or a finding of guilt, and does not leave a criminal record – meaning that Mr Chan will face no further developments in the case if he manages to remain crime-free for a year .
He is the fourth of seven people linked to the Orchard Towers murder to be dealt with.
Long before it opened, there had been whispers that a new attraction near Changi Airport would feature creatures that every boy-child I know has once obsessed over — dinosaurs.
Though you can’t technically walk with the giant creatures here since they are static exhibits, it’s another chance to get up close to at least 20 of them, and out in the open too.
The news, which spread through online channels, got many excited, but authorities got wind of the premature discovery before long and the area was barricaded.
On Sunday (Oct 11) however, the pre-historic display, christened Jurassic Mile, was officially opened to the public. I headed there the next day to take a look, which in hindsight may not have been such a good idea.
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