Singaporean blogger Wendy Cheng, also known as Xiaxue, announced in an Instagram post on Wednesday evening (5 April) that she had ended her marriage with her husband Mike Sayre.

She revealed that they had been separated for a long time now, and will focus on co-parenting their son Dash moving forward.

She said in a lengthy Instagram post that she captioned “a note from Mike and Wendy”:

“After 17 years of being together, Mike and I have decided, mutually and amicably, to end our marriage. This announcement may come as a surprise to many of you, but we have actually been separated for a long time now.

We both took a long time to come to this decision, and it’s not an easy one to make. This may not be the fairytale ending that everyone wishes for, but 17 years is a long time and we had a good run with loads of love, happiness and memories we formed together.

Unfortunately nothing lasts forever. Our focus now is on co-parenting Dash and continuing to support each other as we move forward in separate lives.

To my ex husband, my partner in crime all these years and the father of my child, I wish you nothing but happiness for your future. Despite things ending this way, I never regretted picking you.

To all of you followers who have been here with us all these years, I’m sorry that this love story has come to an end. During this time, I know I sound cliched, but we would like to seek some privacy.

Separation is difficult, but it’s so much worse when you have to tell it to so many people – about a decision that technically has nothing to do with them.”

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A post shared by Wendy Cheng 👑 Xiaxue (@xiaxue)

Got married 13 years ago

Xiaxue and her now ex-husband, American engineer Mike Sayre, first tied the knot back in 2010 and she gave birth to their son Dashiel Sayre 3 years later in 2013.

Images source: @xiaxue on Instagram

It was reported yesterday that 61-year-old SBS Transit bus driver Tan Phuay Khoo, who was previously charged for an accident on 19 January 2021 along Pasir Ris, that resulted in a 33-year-old woman being knocked down and sustaining serious injuries, resulting in her left leg being amputated.

He had pleaded not guilty in court for causing grievous hurt by driving without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road.

The victim, 33-year-old Bai, was called to the witness stand by the prosecution on the second day of the trial against the bus driver, according to Shin Min Daily News.

Traffic light’s green man was on at the time

Bai testified that on the day of the horror accident, she was on her way to the supermarket to buy some groceries.

She said that she had started crossing the road at the time when the green man on the traffic light was flashing before she heard a bang. She said that the next moment, she found herself on a hospital bed.

On her serious leg injuries, she said that her left was amputated from her thigh down after the accident, and her right leg was also fractured and had to be surgically reconstructed.

As such, she is no longer able to walk up or down stairs; or run, jump and squat without assistance.

She also said that she is not willing to go out anymore because she felt that she had become a different person now.

The victim also broke down while testifying in court, revealing that she has a 10-year-old daughter and sharing that she is worried about going out with her daughter after the accident.

She said that she is afraid of the weird looks that she gets from the public and fears it would be too much for her daughter, adding that she is worried about her daughter’s future.

The victim’s mother who was sitting in the public gallery of the courtroom, also broke down after seeing her daughter crying on the stand.

Bus driver maintains he had kept a proper lookout

The bus driver Tan Phuay Khoo’s lawyer, cross-examined the case investigation officer on 4 April, and argued that Tan had kept a proper lookout for road users when turning right with his bus.

The lawyer pointed out that Tan was seen in CCTV footage from his bus looking out for traffic and checking if the vehicle would hit the road divider.

The investigation officer agreed that the driver might have displayed reasonable consideration for road users, however, he still knocked down the woman.

The hearing into the case continues.

62-year-old Mohdmed Kassiah P. N. Sha was sentenced to 1-month imprisonment after pleading guilty to a charge of voluntarily causing hurt.

He had verbally and physically assaulted 20-year-old cleaner Ahammed Siyam, punching his chest in the process.

Another charge under the Protection from Harassment Act was considered for her sentence.

The victim’s employer, NRT Trading and Engineering, was engaged by Marine Parade Town Council to clean the estate, according to the State Prosecuting Office (SPO) Lim Yeow Leong.

What happened?

On 9 March at about 11.15 am, the victim was washing the toilets at Block 89 Circuit Road with his 48-year-old father Mr Babul Abdul Aziz, who was supervising.

The two Bangladeshi nationals then spotted Kassian sitting nearby, suspecting that he was collecting money from the people who were using the toilets.

Babul approached the man and told him to leave, but he later returned and attacked Ahammed at the Rubbish Bin Centre.

Ahammed was punched but didn’t fight back and called his father (the supervisor) for help.

However, Kassiah (the assailant) then called the police instead, claiming that he was attacked by two people at Block 88 Circuit Road.

Police officers later interviewed the assailant, who claimed that the victim and his father had assaulted him for “no reason” instead.

But the police officers noted that Kassiah was reeking of alcohol at the time and couldn’t provide any material facts of the alleged assault that he claimed, and was incoherent in his speech. His allegation of assault was also not substantiated.

The assailant was attended to by a paramedic, complaining that he had stomach pain and that he had too much to drink earlier, but refused to be conveyed to the hospital in an ambulance.

Meanwhile, the victim, Ahammed, sought medical treatment at a polyclinic in Geylang and was found to have suffered a mild chest wall contusion, and was given one day of medical leave.

The assailant, Kassiah, was subsequently arrested on 11 March.

Tin Pei Ling previously shared about the incident

Member of Parliament Tin Pei Ling shared on her Instagram about an incident at Macpherson, where a HDB cleaner was “hunted down” by a “likely intoxicated” man and punched in the chest.

The incident happened on 9 March late at night, at the void deck of Block 87 Circuit Road.

Tin said that the cleaners at the estate had been harassed by the man for a while now, and the harassment continued even on the day of Tin’s block visits.

She said that when the head cleaner of the estate, Babul, stepped in to defend his cleaner, the man then allegedly hunted down one of the cleaners and punched him in the chest.

Tin revealed that the victim was also Babul’s son, and that he was hurt by the incident emotionally; Tin appealed to residents to be kind and said the cleaners don’t deserve to be treated like that.

The Singapore Police Force is investigating the incident, and the assailant is described as being a man in his 60s who often drinks beer around the estate.

Tin Pei Ling’s Instagram post

Sth unfortunate happened today in MacPherson. Sharing the story here to raise awareness and hopefully, we can spread greater kindness towards those who work hard to earn an honest living.

Babul is an extremely hardworking man. He is very friendly and helpful, always on the ground to clean our estate and running around to check as well. Residents who know him have all praised him to me. Hence, I am very much saddened to know of what happened to him and his son today.

To all who have offered your well wishes to Babul, thank you! I have conveyed to him as well

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A post shared by Tin Pei Ling (@tinpeiling)

A River Valley High School student who was charged with killing a 13-year-old boy in school with an axe, is set to plead guilty at the High Court later this year, in August, according to Channel NewsAsia.

The now-18-year-old is facing a charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, after his previous murder charge was downgraded.

His case was heard at a district court earlier today (6 April), with the district judge transferring the case to the High Court where the boy will be pleading guilty.

He was seen in court wearing a mask and sporting a shaved head, and his identity cannot be revealed due to a court order.

The 18-year-old had told the prosecution in a case conference last month (21 March) that he will be intending to plead guilty.

The court was informed by Deputy Public Prosecutor Sean Teh that a tentative date for the plea of guilty has been fixed on 7 August, with defence lawyer Joyce Khoo confirming that her client will be pleading guilty.

Recap

The 18-year-old River Valley High School student who allegedly hacked a 13-year-old boy to death with an axe inside a 4th-floor school toilet was previously charged with murder.

The then-16-year-old has since had his murder charge downgraded to culpable homicide not amounting to murder on 24 February.

The teen appeared in court on 24 February via a video link from his place of remand, wearing a white shirt and a face mask, and sporting a shaven head.

According to Singapore Statutes Online, culpable homicide is not considered murder when “the offender whilst deprived of the power of self-control by grave and sudden provocation, causes the death of the person who gave the provocation, or causes the death of any other person by mistake or accident”.

The reason for the downgrade was not disclosed.

If convicted, the teen faces a life imprisonment sentence with caning or up to 20 years jail with a fine or caning.

Background

The 16-year-old boy from River Valley High School was charged on 20 July 2021 with the murder of a 13-year-old schoolmate.

As the defendant is under 18 he cannot be named.

The defendant is accused of the murder which happened between 11.16 AM and 11.44 AM, inside a toilet on the 4th floor of Block D of the school. According to the prosecutor, the defendant was previously “treated” at the Institute of Mental Health.

The police received a call for help at the school at about 11.40am on 19 July 2021, and the victim was found with multiple wounds at the toilet, lying motionless.

The deceased was allegedly slashed on the head, neck and body with an axe that measured 50cm by 22cm on the day of the murder.

He was subsequently pronounced dead at the scene, and the axe was also seized as a case exhibit.

Investigations revealed that the victim and the alleged killer didn’t know each other, and that the boy bought the axe online.

Student saw axe dripping with blood

In yet another leaked Whatsapp message detailing the attack at River Valley High School that left a Secondary 1 boy dead, a girl was alleged to be the first to see the perpetrator.

The message appears to be a conversation between a parent and another identified party.

The parent detailed that the daughter was the first to see the attacker because the incident allegedly happened in front of her classroom.

She allegedly saw the boy (attacker) holding the axe dripping with blood, and his shoes were also allegedly drenched in blood.

Panicked students messaged their parents

A series of leaked Whatsapp messages allegedly from River Valley High School students detailing the “knife attack” at their school, circulated on Whatsapp

One of the students said that there was a male student holding a “v big axe (SIC)” outside their classroom, and that he looks crazy.

They shared that everyone was “damn scared” and that there was “literally blood dripping”.

In the other screenshot, it appears to be a conversation between a student and his/her parents.

The student corroborated the accounts of the first screenshot, saying that he/she saw a boy holding an axe.

The student alleged that three girls from his/her class saw a sec 3 boy at the water cooler washing away blood.

He saw them and asked them if they had a phone, because he “killed someone”.

The student said that classes 1H and 1G were hiding in the co-room.

The parent then replied “keep yourself safe”, and asked “can we fetch you now?”