SINGAPORE: Amos Yee, the controversial Singaporean internet personality and child exploitation offender, was assaulted by a cosplayer outside an anime convention at Suntec City on Saturday, in an incident that spread online through videos filmed by bystanders and Yee himself.

The videos showed a male teenager at the event punching, kicking and elbowing the 27-year-old while he crouched on the floor near the Doujin Market convention area. The attacker then appeared to tackle Yee from behind before a bystander stepped in to stop the fight.

According to organisers, the altercation didn’t happen inside the convention. Police said they received a call for assistance at about 2.15 pm. An 18-year-old male was arrested for causing public nuisance after Yee suffered minor injuries. Investigations are currently ongoing, Channel NewsAsia (CNA) and Mothership reported (May 9).

Yee was banned from attending the event by the organisers

The incident occurred after Doujin Market organisers, Neo Tokyo Project, decided earlier to cancel Yee’s ticket and ban him from the event following complaints from attendees.

Organisers said community members had expressed concern over Yee attending the convention, with some saying his presence made them feel unsafe.

Despite the ban, Yee still turned up at Suntec City and posted updates on X (Twitter) throughout the day, including photos from the exhibition area. One of his posts even carried the caption “Protect your kids.”

Protect your kids pic.twitter.com/LKoOzc50E5

— Amos Yee (@amosyeeishere) May 9, 2026

Yee also uploaded footage of the assault from his own perspective.

This is the attack from my perspective pic.twitter.com/nueAaGJttp

— Amos Yee (@amosyeeishere) May 9, 2026

Neo Tokyo Project said it doesn’t condone violence and stressed that its focus remains on keeping visitors and exhibitors safe.

The attacker claims that Yee was trying to molest another attendee

The alleged attacker posted on his Instagram Story, claiming he saw Yee allegedly trying to molest another attendee at the venue.

The teen claimed he confronted Yee and attempted to make him leave before the situation escalated into a physical altercation. Those claims, however, haven’t been verified by police.

Yee posted about the attack on X, showing his sustained injuries on his upper lip.

The incident triggered heavy discussion online, with reactions ranging from condemning the assault to debating Yee’s presence at a fan convention filled with younger attendees.

Amos Yee remains one of Singapore’s most divisive internet figures

Yee first gained notoriety in Singapore in 2015 after posting offensive online remarks about Christians and Muslims. He later left for the United States in 2016 after serving jail time in Singapore.

In 2020, he was charged in the US over the possession of explicit visuals of minors and the act of physical grooming offences on children. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six years in prison before eventually being deported back to Singapore last year.

He is also facing charges under the Enlistment Act for avoiding National Service obligations.

The Saturday’s assault at the cosplay event also revived memories of a separate 2015 incident when Yee was slapped outside the State Courts by another member of the public. That offender was jailed after the court ruled that vigilante behaviour couldn’t be accepted, regardless of personal anger.

Public outrage still has legal limits

The Suntec incident showed how online hostility can spill into real-life confrontations, especially around figures who attract strong public reactions.

Convention organisers today are also dealing with a different kind of pressure. Fan communities increasingly expect event spaces to feel safe, especially at gatherings involving younger attendees and families.

Still, anger alone doesn’t justify violence. Once a confrontation turns physical, the issue changes from public opinion to criminal behaviour. That distinction remains important, even in emotionally charged cases.

This article (Amos Yee gets attacked by teen at Suntec City anime convention) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.

TANAH MERAH, May 10 — For most people, coconut husks are just waste that are burned or discarded, but for a retiree in Kampung Batu Hitam here, it is viewed as ‘gold’ that can generate substantial income through modern agricultural industry.

Armed with experience and knowledge gained while serving at the National Kenaf and Tobacco Board, Wan Zamri Wan Ya, 61, has successfully transformed coconut husks into high-quality planting medium products that are now in high demand throughout Peninsular Malaysia.

Wan Zamri said he started working on coconut husk-based products nearly nine years ago after seeing the great potential of this waste material in the agricultural and ornamental plant sectors.

Wan Zamri Wan Ya (right) and his workers select coconut husks before chopping it into smaller pieces using a special machine when met by Bernama at his factory in Kampung Batu Hitam May 9, 2026. — Bernama pic

“Now, I produce two main products namely coconut coir dust (cocopeat) for fertigation crops and chopped coir for the flower plant industry.

“I see this industry is still underdeveloped in Kelantan even though the demand is high because previously many entrepreneurs sourced coconut husk products from Thailand to be used as a planting medium,” he told Bernama recently.

The former assistant economic affairs officer said the idea of producing coconut husk-based products initially arose for his wife’s gardening needs before catching the attention of friends who were also interested in using the gardening medium.

“From there, I saw that this business opportunity was big, especially in Kelantan, because not many people are seriously pursuing it,” he said.

Wan Zamri Wan Ya carries out the process of chopping coconut coir to obtain smaller pieces of coir using a special machine when met by Bernama at his factory in Kampung Batu Hitam May 9, 2026. — Bernama pic

According to him, the use of coconut husk dust and chopped husks can help retain soil moisture, in addition to having high water absorption capacity and being suitable as organic fertiliser to reduce agricultural costs.

Wan Zamri said that the demand for his products is increasing and is now being marketed throughout Peninsular Malaysia, with the supply of coir obtained from local coconut farmers.

He also said that he is now able to process about two tonnes of coconut husk products per month, selling at RM12 for 70 litres of coconut husk dust and RM25 for 105 litres of shredded husk.

“I don’t sell by the kilogramme because the coir has different moisture levels, whether dry or wet,” he added. — Bernama

කේදාර KhE posted a photo:

Cool cars, cooler outfits, and a whole lot of sunshine at the Classic Car Boot Sale, King’s Cross, Spring 2026.

SINGAPORE, May 9 — A teenage cosplayer was arrested after getting into a scuffle with convicted child sex offender Amos Yee at an anime convention in Suntec Singapore yesterday.

The police said they were alerted to the incident at the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre at about 2.15pm, according to the Straits Times.

Officers established that an 18‑year‑old boy had assaulted a 27‑year‑old man who suffered minor injuries, and they later arrested the teenager for causing public nuisance.

Yee, who was jailed in the United States in 2021 for grooming and sexually exploiting a minor before returning to Singapore, posted on X that he had “just been attacked in the anime convention” and shared a photo showing a bloodied lip.

Videos circulating online showed a cosplayer dressed as Yuji Itadori from the anime Jujutsu Kaisen punching, kicking and stomping on a man outside the Doujin Market 2026 halls.

The incident occurred at about 12.30pm, according to eventgoers, in a report by Mothership.

The footage showed the attacker briefly walking away before returning to leap onto the man and elbow him while he was curled on the ground.

Another attendee then pulled the attacker aside as the man on the ground held his head and later walked away.

The alleged attacker later claimed on Instagram that he saw Yee “try to molest someone” and confronted him.

He said he attempted to remove Yee from the area but alleged that Yee attacked him first, prompting him to retaliate in what he described as self‑defence.

Doujin Market, also known as Doujima, is being held at halls 403 to 405 from today to tomorrow.

Yee had posted on X a day earlier that he planned to attend the convention.

The organisers said on Instagram yesterday that they had cancelled the ticket of “a known problematic influencer” and were working to bar him from all future events.

They said they took “the safety of everyone at our convention very seriously”.

Police investigations are ongoing.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 — Reneuco Bhd will be delisted from the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia on May 12, 2026 after Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd dismissed the company’s appeal for more time to submit its regularisation plan.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, the renewable energy company said Bursa Malaysia had rejected its appeal for an extension of time until November 7, 2026 to finalise and submit the regularisation plan to the relevant authorities for approval.

The company said Bursa Malaysia had also decided to delist the securities of the company from the official list of Bursa Malaysia pursuant to Paragraph 8.04 of the Main Market Listing Requirements.

“In the circumstances, please be informed that the securities of the company will be removed from the official list of Bursa Malaysia upon the expiry of two market days from the date hereof, namely on May 12, 2026,” it said.

Reneuco said the securities currently deposited with Bursa Malaysia Depository Sdn Bhd would be withdrawn by the company upon the delisting.

“Upon the de-listing of the company, the company will continue to exist but as an unlisted entity. The company is still able to continue its operations and business and proceed with its corporate restructuring and its shareholders can still be rewarded by the company’s performance.

“However, the shareholders will be holding shares which are no longer quoted and traded on Bursa Malaysia. The interests and rights of the shareholders will remain safeguarded under the Companies Act 2016,” it added. — Bernama 

JAKARTA, May 8 — Indonesia recorded US$3.3 billion (RM12.9 billion) in net foreign portfolio inflows from January to April, driven by inflows into Bank Indonesia Rupiah Securities (SRBI) as the central bank intensified efforts to stabilise the rupiah amid global market volatility.

Bank Indonesia (BI) Governor Perry Warjiyo said the inflows followed net outflows of US$1.7 billion in the first quarter of 2026.

“Year-to-date, inflows into SRBI reached 78.1 trillion rupiah (RM17.62 billion), while equity outflows totalled 38.6 trillion rupiah. Although government bonds recorded inflows in recent weeks, year-to-date outflows still stand at 11.7 trillion rupiah,” he said, according to Antara News Agency.

Perry said BI is implementing a strategy to strengthen the SRBI interest rate structure to attract foreign inflows and support rupiah stabilisation.

He said the central bank was going all out to maintain the rupiah exchange rate through various policies, including intervention in the offshore non-deliverable forward (NDF) market and spot and domestic non-deliverable forward (DNDF) transactions.

“The interventions are not limited to the domestic market, not only through spot and DNDF transactions, but are carried out around the world, around the clock.

“We intervene in the offshore NDF market. We intervene in Hong Kong, Singapore, London, and New York. This is not business as usual; we are all out,” he said.

He said the central bank has also relaxed restrictions on offshore rupiah-related NDF transactions for certain dealers and banks.

Perry said foreign exchange reserves remained more than sufficient to support rupiah stabilisation efforts, standing at US$148.2 billion at the end of March 2026.

“Please remember that foreign exchange reserves were accumulated during times of strong inflows. That is why we use them during periods of outflows. The reserves are substantial,” he said. — Bernama

SINGAPORE: After a legal recruiter said on a recent podcast that companies are now choosing to hire “hungrier” workers from Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, and are letting go of Singaporean workers, this caused no small amount of comments online.

The recruiter, who is also the founder of Aslant Legal, is a 42-year-old former lawyer named Shulin Lee. Ms Lee was a guest on an episode aired on April 30 of CNA’s Deep Dive Podcast titled “Why are younger workers leaving stable careers just a few years in?”

A short clip from the episode was posted on social media and has been widely viewed and commented on.

In it, Ms Lee says, “For the young employees, you need to be a little bit more paranoid about what the future holds, because the companies that I now work with are letting go of Singaporeans in favour of hiring people in Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines, not because they’re necessarily more skilled, but because they are a lot hungrier. And that hunger is now irreplaceable. 

No amount of enrichment classes will make my children smarter than AI. I’m telling everyone to double down on their relationship-building skills. You have to go for a job interview, be able to look into someone’s eye, and carry a conversation.”

She added that many Gen Zs, those born between 1995 and 2012, are unable to carry on a conversation or explain what they do to a stranger, something Ms Lee said she finds terrifying.

Many who have commented on Ms Lee’s remarks have not held back in disagreeing with her, taking a particular exception to the issue of whether or not Singaporean workers are less “hungry” than those from other countries.

“Hungrier = Willing to accept low pay and longer hours. The old adage – ‘Will work for food’,” a Facebook user remarked drily.

“‘Hungrier’ in corporate language translates to ‘desperate’ in layman’s terms. If there’s a job offer in another country that pays me 3 or more times more for the same job here, I would also react with the same ‘hunger’ for that job,” chimed in another.

In the same vein, a YouTube user wrote, “I disagree with the statement ‘foreign workers are hungrier’. They are merely more incentivised to work due to the higher exchange rate. They can finance 2 bungalows back at home with a salary here. Don’t believe me? Depreciate SGD by 80% and see if foreign workers are hungry to work here.” 

Another who said they agreed with the commenter added, “If they are hungrier, why are they not contributing and grinding in companies in their own countries?”

“Employers say they want hunger… yet when you show hunger, they want to put you in your place and obey, then accuse you of rocking the boat by proposing new ideas,” a commenter shared. 

Another wrote, “This recruiter is pushing a toxic work culture on young people. Hunger is great, but once you lose steam, you are immediately discarded w/o a second thought.” /TISG

Read related: ‘They’re acting like scammers’: Singapore jobseeker raises concerns about recruiters in today’s job market

This article (Recruiter causes stir for saying foreign workers are ‘a lot hungrier’ than Singaporeans) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.