SINGAPORE: Although an educator from Hong Kong whose rude behaviour toward security guards in Singapore was caught on camera recently had already tendered his resignation, the school he worked for rejected it. 

Lee Cheuk-hing had asked in his resignation letter that his final day at San Wui Commercial Society Secondary School in Tuen Mun would be on August 31. However, the management chose instead to dismiss him immediately as he had violated the code of conduct the school requires of its staff.

At an undisclosed location in Jurong on May 22, Mr Lee got into an argument with two female security guards over a parking issue. When the guards reportedly asked that the vehicle he and his students were using to be moved, the former school head grew angry, yelling at and even taunting the guards, despite efforts from at least three onlookers to get him to calm down.

After the video was widely shared and Mr Lee was heavily criticised, both Hong Kong’s Education Bureau and the authorities from Singapore said the incident would be investigated.

The school issued a public apology for the incident, and its manager said that Mr Lee had been suspended as his conduct during the incident did not meet public expectations.

On Friday (May 29), Mr Lee resigned from his position and issued a tearful apology via video.

The school, however, issued a statement on Wednesday (June 3) saying that the former principal’s “vulgar” behaviour is against the school’s code of conduct for its educators, particularly the guidelines that had been stipulated by the Education Bureau, CNA reported.

“This constitutes the immediate dismissal of Mr Lee and the removal of all his duties at the school,” the statement from the school’s management committee read.

The school’s manager, Edmund Wong Chun-sek, also said that Lee’s dismissal had been done with a view toward the students’ best interests and well-being.

Mr Lee’s apology

In his apology video, Mr Lee said, “As a principal, I should lead by example. Regardless of the circumstances, I should remain calm and restrained. But unfortunately, I failed to do so. I admit [my mistake] and apologise to everyone.” 

He also appealed to his students not to follow his mistakes, and to do their best to remain calm and solve problems reasonably.

“Let my mistake serve as a warning; do not let a moment of impulse drive you to say things that you will deeply regret in the future,” he added. /TISG

Read also: Action taken against Hong Kong teacher who carried student like a bride

This article (Hong Kong principal who swore at Singapore security guards fired after resignation was rejected) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.

HONG KONG: In the same week as a principal resigned after videos of him shouting at security guards during a school trip to Singapore went viral, the behaviour of another of the city’s educators has been under the spotlight. 

However, authorities had already dealt with the matter when it first came to light.

After photos of the teacher carrying a female student like how a groom carries a bride in his arms were shared online, Hong Kong’s Education Bureau told the South China Morning Post that in 2024, upon learning of the incident, they had already taken action.

Not only had it immediately recommended that the school follow up on the incident, but it had also given support to the students involved in the photo to “effectively safeguard their welfare,” a spokesman for the Bureau also said.

Moreover, it had also “taken appropriate action in accordance with the nature and severity of the incident, and has dealt with the teacher’s professional conduct matters with the utmost seriousness.”

SCMP said three photos from the incident have surfaced: one of the man holding the student in the “princess carry” position, another that showed the girl running after him, and a third showing her with her arms around his waist.

She had captioned the photos with “da best class teacher ever” and thanked him for the “unforgettable” opportunity she had been given to work on a school play.

The spokesman also underlined what the bureau’s Guidelines on Teachers’ Professional Conduct says, that educators are expected to behave in a way that safeguards student welfare. Their conduct must also “comply with professional standards, so that students can learn in a safe and orderly school environment,” he added.

School principal who shouted at guards in Singapore resigned

On May 29, Lee Cheuk-hing, who used to head San Wui Commercial Society Secondary School in Tuen Mun, resigned from his position as principal. 

At an undisclosed location in Jurong on May 22, he was caught on camera shouting at two female security guards who were asking for the vehicle he and his students were using to be moved. He went on to taunt the guards, despite efforts from at least three onlookers to get him to calm down. 

Afterwards, it was reported that the incident was under investigation in Singapore, as well as by Hong Kong’s Education Bureau. The school issued a public apology for the incident, and its manager said that Mr Lee had been suspended as his conduct during the incident did not meet public expectations. /TISG

Read also: We ‘stand firmly behind our officers’ — Singapore’s Union of Security Employees defends personnel on duty after they were verbally abused by Hong Kong school principal, who later apologised

This article (Action taken against Hong Kong teacher who carried student like a bride) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.

dannyhennesy posted a photo:

...I apologize for the messy room, but a battle agains time happens here every day in an attempt to make common matter in to gold...

Peace and Noise!

/ Mushroombrain the alchemist of art

Nothing unites the world better than comedy, and sitcoms have long been one of television’s greatest sources of laughter. From early classics likeI Love Lucy to modern hits like St. Denis Medical, the genre has constantly reinvented itself to reflect changing times and audiences. Yet despite those changes, certain sitcoms have managed to stand the test of time — not always because they are technically the best, but because they hold a special place in viewers’ lives.

BEIJING, June 17 — Investors have valued Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek at more than US$50 billion (RM203 billion) in the company’s first fundraising round, reports said.

The firm released its latest AI model in April, having stunned the world in 2025 with a low-cost chatbot that matched the power of US rivals.

It recently raised more than 50 billion yuan, the Wall Street Journal and The Information said this week, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

That values the company at more than US$50 billion, they said. DeepSeek did not respond to AFP’s request for comment.

Training and running cutting-edge AI models is an expensive business, requiring billions of dollars in computing infrastructure.

But despite their grand ambitions, for now the world’s biggest AI companies are loss-making ventures trying to work out how to turn a profit in the future.

Washington says DeepSeek’s latest model — among China’s most advanced — is about eight months behind the top offerings from US companies.

US startup Anthropic is valued at US$965 billion following a US$65 billion fundraising round, while ChatGPT-maker OpenAI was valued at $852 billion in March.

Both US firms have filed to go public in recent weeks — suggesting the process of raising record amounts of private investment may have reached its limits.

The Wall Street Journal and The Information said DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng made the biggest investment of the round at around 20 billion yuan.

Liang has set up an unusual fundraising structure that allows him to retain control of DeepSeek through a limited partnership that he manages, they said.

The outlets added that China’s government-backed National Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment Fund also invested around one billion yuan directly into DeepSeek.

Other investors reportedly included Chinese tech giant Tencent, e-commerce firm JD.com, battery maker CATL and video game publisher NetEase. All the companies declined to comment or did not reply to AFP.

DeepSeek’s systems are open-source — meaning their inner workings are public, allowing programmers to customise parts of the software to suit their needs.

But like other Chinese chatbots, DeepSeek’s AI tools eschew topics usually censored in the world’s second-largest economy, such as the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown. — AFP 

LONDON, June 11 — Homelessness in the UK is “entirely preventable” thanks to AI-supported technology, Prince William told the London Tech Week conference yesterday.

The heir to the British throne spoke as his homeless charity, Homewards, launched the Homelessness Data Lab — a national collaboration it said can improve how data and technology flag “clear warning signs long before” someone loses their home.

This could involve the sharing of personal data on an individual’s finances, welfare benefits and health between different bodies, prompting some cautionary comments elsewhere at London Tech Week surrounding data privacy.

“Homelessness is not inevitable, it is entirely preventable, it is predictable,” William said during a panel discussion.

The prince said “data and the technology” can be used “to keep people in their homes, their jobs, their communities, families, at school”.

“In life, prevention is better than the cure,” the royal told a packed conference hall.

Homewards notes that there are more than 430,000 people in the UK experiencing homelessness, half of whom are children.

Data privacy 

Dan Hughes, a trustee of the property sector charity LandAid that is partnering with Homewards to deliver the data lab, cautioned that data privacy needed to be respected while seeking to tackle homelessness with the help of tech.

“We can throw huge amounts of data at solving this, but a lot of it is about individuals and people,” he told a separate London Tech Week event yesterday.

“We need to make sure that we take best practice on personal data and how we can leverage that information without risking privacy.”

Zahra Bahrololoumi, chief executive of Salesforce UK and Ireland, a tech company also involved with the data lab, said “AI will help... identify the interventions that will actually work” in preventing homelessness.

“Our mission is to reduce the administrative burden on frontline workers,” she said sat alongside William.

“We are applying AI tooling... (that) will enable the frontline worker to focus on the individuals and families that need the support the most,” she added. — AFP

Malaysia spends about RM1.87 million (S$600,000) daily to house 20,775 foreign detainees in immigration depots nationwide, at roughly RM90 (S$29) per person. Immigration Department data shows detainee numbers rising steadily: 12,092 in 2023, 15,917 in 2024, 18,961 in 2025, and 20,775 as of March 2026. Of the latest figures, 16,642 are men and 4,133 women.

Social media users expressed shock at the figures, both the staggering daily expense and the rising number of detained migrants. Many argue this is an unnecessary burden, especially as Malaysia faces potential budget cuts in hospitals and tertiary education.

One X, one remarked that with such high daily spending on detainees, prison life might even seem preferable. In response, another cautioned against romanticising incarceration, stressing that imprisonment strips away personal freedom entirely. 

One shared a breakdown of the RM90 (S$29) daily cost per detainee, noting it covers administration, electricity, water, safety, and security. This explains why expenses appear high, as food is only one component of detention costs. The figures highlight the broader infrastructure and operational demands, but the inmates themselves would receive a value of RM10 (S$3.22) for their food, water and clothing. 

Following that, another argued the government should not waste national resources on detaining immigrants. He suggested deportation to their countries of origin would be cheaper in the long run. Echoing Malaysia’s political leaders, the user claimed the nation maintains strong foreign relations, implying deportation could be managed more effectively than prolonged detention.

Some social media users accuse the misappropriation of the reported detention costs. One alleged that a large portion of the daily RM90 (S$29) per inmate may be siphoned off. He claimed detainees are fed scraps, suggesting the actual spending does not match official figures. 

This article (Malaysia’s migrant detention bill hits S$600,000) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.

In the world of domestic helper drama in Singapore, one employer’s Facebook cry for advice has sparked a passionate debate — and it’s not about chores or cooking. It’s about attitude.

A frustrated first-time employer shared in the Direct Hire Transfer Singapore Maid/Domestic Helper Facebook group that her Filipino helper, who was hired to care for her baby, refuses to listen to instructions. And the shocker is that the helper just ignores her employer and even raises her voice back.

“She even told me in a loud voice, ‘I already know! I have five years of experience!’” the employer wrote.

‘5 years experience? So what?!’

What followed was a cascade of unfiltered opinions from group members.

One commenter was brutally direct: “I will send her back, packing. 5 years experience? So what!? Different homes, different styles. Still new, so bold to open her big mouth! This is why I will never hire any helper from this country.”

Others echoed similar sentiments — that experience elsewhere doesn’t mean a free pass to reject present house rules.

“Your house, your baby, your family, your rules. Her experience helps, but doesn’t mean it’s the same with what you want to be done in your house,” another wrote. “Every day is a school day.”

“I have 8 years experience. I never raise my voice to my ma’am…”

Interestingly, some domestic helpers voiced their thoughts about the matter and shared their own “experience” as well — and they weren’t impressed either.

“I have 8 years of experience in childcare, from taking care of newborns to toddlers,” wrote one seasoned helper. “Yet I never raise my voice to my ma’am… every family has their own way of raising a child,” she added.

Another helper with seven years abroad under her belt explained it more diplomatically: “Even with my experience, I still listen to what my employer and her parents want — as long as it’s good for the baby.”

But she also dropped a subtle reminder for employers: “If you hired someone with experience, you must know they have knowledge. Some parents, even if they hire someone experienced, still treat them like they’re going back to school.”

“All the experienced ones think they know better…”

One comment concluded the underlying tension: “All the experienced ones think they know better, so they can throw their weight around as though they are the bosses.”

And then came this sharp reminder: “Need to remind her who’s paying her salary.” fff

This article (Employer says her helper even shouts back, ‘I already know! I have five years experience) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.

What’s the weirdest thing you learned this week? Well, whatever it is, we promise you’ll have an even weirder answer if you listen to PopSci’s hit podcast. The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week hits Spotify, YouTube, Apple, and everywhere else you listen to podcasts every-other Wednesday morning. It’s your new favorite source for the strangest science-adjacent facts, figures, and Wikipedia spirals the editors of Popular Science can muster. If you like the stories in this post, we guarantee you’ll love the show.

FACT: Scientists used yeast found in a mummy for a sourdough bread recipe

By Rachel Feltman

In 1991, German hikers spotted a torso sticking out of glacier ice in the Ötztal Alps, looking like it was trying to army crawl its way out of the mountain. They reported it to the police, who treated it like a recent death. It took days (and a famous mountaineer pointing out that the corpse’s axe looked, uh, old) before anyone realized this was actually a 5,300-year-old mummy. 

Enter Ötzi the Iceman, who we now know probably was murdered (by way of a flint arrowhead to the shoulder), ate lots of game, sported a few tattoos, had damaged lungs from constant fire exposure, and lived to be about 46. We know all of this because his body was naturally mummified by the conditions of the glacier, preserving lots of organs and soft tissue for study. (That’s also why police thought he was a recent casualty of some kind of misadventure on the mountain.) He’s now kept in a specially controlled cold cell in a museum where he’s regularly sprayed down with sterile water to stay moist (gross). 

Scientists recently found some yeast species living in Ötzi that they suspect made a home in him sometime after he died, but before he got put on ice in a modern museum environment. They found some fascinating stuff about his microbiome in general, but today’s episode focuses on a strange little sidequest one of the researchers went on: using the mummy yeast to make sourdough bread. While it took some trial and error, this mummy yeast eventually made decent dough. Tune in to this week’s episode to learn more about this yummy mummy! 

FACT: Mushrooms can teach us a lot about mutual aid

Featuring Pattie Gonia

This week’s episode features special guest Pattie Gonia! Pattie shared some facts and feelings about mycelium. 

Mycelium are thread-like fungal networks that run through the soil, connecting entire forests in what scientists call the “wood wide web.” And they’re a fantastic example of mutual aid in the wild. 

Trees use these networks to share carbon, nitrogen, and water. Established trees funnel sugars to struggling seedlings in the shade. Older trees direct more resources to their own kin and neighbors in need. Dying trees dump their remaining resources into the network as a last act of generosity. 

To make things even more radical, the mycelium that facilitate this mutual aid network don’t steal resources from plants; they trade. They say “You give me sugar, I’ll give you minerals and water.” It’s a genuine exchange economy built on reciprocity, not extraction. 

Listen to this week’s episode to hear Pattie talk more about mycelium—including how it breaks the idea of a sex binary.

FACT: Scientists brought the most famous architects in the world to UC Berkeley for a weekend to run bizarre tests on them, then hid the results for 60 years

Featuring Moiya McTier 

Our other guest this week is friend-of-the-pod Dr. Moiya McTier! She shared a strange historical interlude she learned about while working on her upcoming book, Mothers of Invention: A History of Creativity from the Greek Muses.

In 1958, UC Berkeley invited a bunch of writers and architects to campus for a live-in creative assessment. This included several stars at the top of the field, such as I.M. Pei (best known for the Louvre Pyramid) and Louis Kahn (known for The National Assembly Building in Bangladesh, among other things). For an entire weekend, these architects lived and hung out together while scientists subjected them to a litany of personality tests. The wild range of quizzes and activities—including an exercise where the participants ranked one another—were meant to reveal new insights on creativity. Instead, the results got boxed up and stored in a Berkeley closet until 2016. 

Listen to this week’s episode to learn more about what these bizarre experiments actually found, why creativity is in crisis, and what Moiya thinks we can do to get our creative juices flowing again. 

The post Scientists used melted mummy juice to make sourdough bread appeared first on Popular Science.