A man in Singapore is demanding an apology after his offerings for his late mother was cleared away before he was finished paying respects to his mother during the Qing Ming Festival at Choa Chu Kang Columbarium, according to Shin Min Daily News.

61-year-old Peng Hong Mao was with his two older brothers on 15 April paying respects to their late mother, as they have done so for the last 13 years.

They reached the columbarium and had set up offerings of cakes, fruits, tea and some other food items on a small table before heading to burn paper offerings.

They then returned less than 20 minutes later at the table where they last left their offerings, and found that all of the offerings and table had been cleared and thrown into rubbish bags.

Peng then confronted the cleaning staff there but they said that they didn’t know what happened, but two of the workers at the columbarium apologised to them.

Peng added that he later received a call from a staff member who explained that they cleared the food in order to prevent it from attracting birds, but was unconvinced by the explanation and said that it’s rare to see birds in the columbarium.

He said that his family had wanted to offer tea and wine to their late mother after burning the paper offerings, and planned to bring some of the food home.

He added that the workers clearing their food offering was disrespectful to his late mother and was so upset at what happened that he grabbed the arm of one of the cleaners and demanded an apology from them to his mother, before calling the police.

Peng added that he couldn’t sleep well that night and was saddened by what happened, and said that he wants a satisfactory explanation from the columbarium.

He added that because the Qing Ming Festival is over, they can’t pay their respects to their mother again.

Peng said that the columbarium can remedy the situation by arranging for Taoist priests to perform rites for their mother, and added that the cleaners at the columbarium should have an understanding of Chinese customs when working there.

NEA responds

The National Environment Agency (NEA) said in response that they are aware of the incident, and explained that the cleaner had cleared the food offerings because they were “left unattended on the floor and attracting birds”.

NEA added that it was done “in accordance with (their) protocols” and they added that there were signages in place stating that unattended food will be cleared.

They further added that all visitors are reminded to observe general safety and not leave their food offerings, lit candles and live fires unattended; and said that they will not condone any ill-treatment of their officers, and they will report such incidents to the police.

A 25-year-old man working in Singapore as a food stall assistant to support his family in Malaysia, suddenly fell very sick from a bacterial infection and ended up in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in critical condition, with his heart stopping for 2 whole minutes and having to be resuscitated by the doctors at Changi General Hospital.

His sister is appealing for help and set up a fundraiser to raise money for his hefty medical bills of $40k, of which about $15k is covered by insurance and the remaining $25k still yet to be paid.

Sister’s fundraiser on Give.Asia

Please give my brother hope for him to recover!

My brother and I came from an average family who live in a small village in Perak, Malaysia. Our father is working as an odd-job construction worker although he’s already at his retirement age. Our mother is unemployed. In order to support our family financial matters, my brother decided to come to Singapore, to seek for job opportunity and managed to get a job as a food stall assistant about 1.5 year ago. Everything seemed okay and he is trying his best to save as much as possible, so that he can provide for our family back home.

Little did we know, he fell very sick some time in March 2023 and was admitted to ICU Changi General Hospital with fever, breathlessness, dysuria and back pain on 01 Apr 2023. He had collapsed twice in ICU as his heart had stopped functioning, but luckily the doctors managed to resuscitate him.

His condition was critical as he has been diagnosed with diabetes ketoacidosis, significant melioidosis with bacteremia. His kidney fails to function until now and he needs to go through dialysis every 2 days. He’s currently on strong antibiotics which needs to be administered for few more weeks, on top of other medications given by the doctor.

With the medical care by CGH doctors and fellow nurses, Kar Jun has managed to survive. As Kar Jun is a work permit holder and his health condition is not directly related to workplace injury, his medical insurance coverage is only $15k max.

Unfortunately, his medical bill is hefty. As of 13 April 2023, the medical bill is already at whopping $40k, and after deduction of insurance of $15k, there’s still $25k and is still increasing. With Kar Jun’s current condition, CGH doctor has informed us that he won’t be able to discharge from hospital for a period of time.

Due to our family financial condition, we are unable to afford the current medical bill, let alone the final bill. To avoid further ballooning of the medical bill in Singapore, we have decided to transfer my brother to Johor Bahru Malaysia and seek medical care at government hospital, when there’s an opportunity to do so.

My brother has always been a good boy to our family. He’s only 25 years old, supposedly has a good long way to go and be a filial son to our parents. We sincerely hope you could give him the chance to survive and heal from his medical condition.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to give my brother hope, and all funds will be managed by Give.asia and pay directly to the hospital for Kar Jun’s medical bills.

A netizen shared how their maid had repeatedly asked for advance salary because suddenly saying that she needed to go back to Indonesia because her father was sick.

The family then agreed and cancelled her contract and the maid went home. However, days later the family received a photo of their front door from a loanshark who said that their maid owes them money.

Here is what she said (names have been changed)

My family and I are still in a state of shock. I wanted to share this so people who are reading this will be warned about such situations.

My helper by the name of Yati started her service with us on 5 July 2022. On 15th April 2023, she requested for an advanced pay despite just paying her, her salary on 4 April 2023, saying that her dad was ill back in Indonesia.

She seemed very anxious and kept asking for updates if she could get the advanced pay. We agreed and gave her $400 first out of empathy. Because we notice she have been requesting advance salary quite often.

4 days later on the 19th of April, she came to us out of a sudden, saying that her father asked her to go back to Indonesia and she needs to be back latest by 21st of April.

In shock, we contacted the agent(Randy). Randy came to my house and there was a saga, but in short, Yati is unable to return due to her contract with the agency but since she insisted and we sympathise with her situation so we decided to accede to her request and dissolve the employment contract with immediate effect, and we did not request back the remaining of her advance pay. And even gave her an Ang Bao out of good will.

So on 20 April 2023, Randy came by again and pick her and send her to the ferry terminal. Shortly, Randy sends us the QR code in order for her to cancel Yati’s work permit.

Today, 22nd April 2023. My brother received a WhatsApp text from an unknown number. (See attached for reference) My family and I were in distress as that person who claimed himself as a loan shark had my address and even took a picture of my door step.

Our first instinct was to contact Randy but all we have from her was ‘the work permit has been revoked already, there’s nothing they can do on their end, now we can only go make a police report.’

Take note that my parents are in old age and my dad is still in the hospital now, and I’m not homed 24/7. To be honest, that sum that she borrows is not huge.

But what we are worried about is that this is not the only group of loan shark she engages. Even though cases as such are so common on the internet, but when it happens to us in actuality it’s still rather unbelievable. We have just lodged an police report.

If you have a helper at home, please check with them if they’re facing any financial issues so you don’t have to deal with what we have to deal, not saying that all are the same but prevention is better than cure.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) are investigating an alleged false report of a bomb at a McDonald’s outlet in Yishun last week.

They said that they received an alert about a bomb threat on Thursday at about 10,25pm at a McDonald’s outlet at Block 846 Yishun Ring Road.

But following security checks at the premises, the police found no such “threat items”, and are investigating the alleged bomb hoax.

The police added that they take all security threats seriously and will investigate those who intentionally cause public harm.

They said that they are investigating this incident as a case of communicating false information about something harmful.

According to Shin Min Daily News, a 40-year-old food delivery rider, Mr Chuo, was on his way to pick up an order from the McDonald’s outlet at the time when he noticed the police at the scene appearing to be looking for something.

He said that the customers were not allowed to dine in at the outlet and could only order takeaways, and when he asked the workers at the outlet, they couldn’t tell him what was going on.

Persons found guilty of communicating false information about a bomb threat face a jail term of up to 7 years and/or a fine of up to $50,000.

Bomb hoaxes

Bomb hoaxes are a serious issue that can cause significant harm to individuals, organizations, and entire communities. A bomb hoax is a false threat of an explosive device being present, which can lead to panic, evacuations, and law enforcement responses.

Although bomb hoaxes may seem like harmless pranks, they can have severe consequences, including injuries, property damage, and emotional trauma.

The first danger of bomb hoaxes is that they can create chaos and panic. When individuals receive a bomb threat, they may feel scared, anxious, and uncertain about their safety.

In many cases, bomb hoaxes result in evacuations of buildings, which can disrupt the lives of thousands of people. The chaos and disruption caused by bomb hoaxes can also impact emergency services, such as firefighters and paramedics, who may be delayed in responding to actual emergencies.

Another danger of bomb hoaxes is that they can lead to injuries and property damage. When buildings are evacuated due to bomb threats, people may become disoriented and rush to exit the building, resulting in falls, trampling, and other injuries.

Additionally, if law enforcement or bomb squads need to search the premises, they may use specialized equipment or explosives to gain access, which can damage property.

Bomb hoaxes can also have long-term consequences. Individuals who have been victims of bomb hoaxes may experience emotional trauma, including anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. They may struggle to trust others or feel safe in public spaces, impacting their quality of life.

Additionally, organizations that have been the target of bomb hoaxes may experience reputational damage, affecting their ability to attract customers, investors, and partners.

Bomb hoaxes can divert law enforcement resources from other critical activities. When law enforcement receives a bomb threat, they must take it seriously and devote significant resources to investigate and respond.

This may include evacuating buildings, searching for explosive devices, and analyzing potential suspects. These efforts require time, money, and expertise, which could be used to address other critical public safety issues.

An accident took place near the Tan Kah Kee MRT station along Dunearn Road yesterday (23 April), with a 64-year-old male pedestrian being killed, according to The Straits Times.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that they received a call for help on Sunday at about 2pm in the afternoon along Dunearn Road near the junction of Watten Estate Road.

The Singapore Police Force said that the 64-year-old pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene by a paramedic from the SCDF and the 44-year-old driver of the car was conveyed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, before being arrested for dangerous driving causing death.

Two children who were inside the driver’s car, a 4-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl, were also conveyed to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

According to Facebook page Singapore roads accident.com, the deceased was crossing the road at the time when he got hit by the car and died.

Severed arm

Following the accident, a snaking traffic jam led up to the accident site with one of the lanes being cordoned off with traffic cones, with police officers at the scene.

A blue police tent was also seen on the grass patch, with a silver coloured BMW 3 Series ahead of it that had its rear windscreen shattered with debris from the vehicle strewn onto the side of the road.

Another driver who was passing by the accident site at about 2.15pm, told ST that he saw a body lying near the driver’s side of the car in the first lane, as well as a severed arm on the third lane.

Another witness, 38-year-old SYed Musa, said that he was in his friend’s car and they were stuck in the jam for about 30 minutes, and when they drove past the accident site they saw a man they believed to be the driver of the car, appearing to be in a state of shock as he stood near a tree and being attended to by paramedics.

Police investigations into the accident are underway