SINGAPORE: Bird nuisance has always been a problem at food and market centres in the country, and vendors and cleaners have now come up with another way to scare these birds away—using laser pointers. 

When Shin Min Daily News visited a food centre located at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10, it was observed that many birds gathered near the dish return area and garbage cans to eat the leftovers. Moreover, some birds even fly into the stalls for food. 

In an interview, a 64-year-old food stall owner admitted that the birds often gather on the beams and pillars of the food centre, and bird droppings would fall directly onto the ground or the diners’ tables. 

Another 62-year-old vendor declared that in order to keep the floor clean, she has to sweep the bird droppings several times a day, and it added to her daily workload. 

To somehow scare these birds away, one claimed: “Many of us vendors have laser pointers, which we use to scare away birds that fly above customers.” More so, one of the solutions that they had been implementing in the centre is that cleaners speed up clearing of leftover food from the tables to prevent birds from flying in.

Better situation after the renovation process

The Ang Mo Kio Town Council recently shared that the market and hawker centre will be closed for two months from June 8 for comprehensive maintenance and renovation. It is expected to reopen on August 8. 

The renovation includes a range of upgrades, such as replacing tables and chairs, installing more fans, adding more bird control equipment, and improving the toilets. People expect that the bird situation would get a lot better after the renovation process. 

Other related news

In similar news related to bird disturbances, these were also reported disturbing a coffee shop located in Toa Payoh when they directly fly onto the tables and snatch diners’ food. 

With this, the diners admitted that it was difficult to send them away, and the vendors even made their own partitions to prevent the birds from entering.

Read more about the news story here. 

This article (New way to scare away wild birds: Food vendors now use laser pointers for birds who openly steal food from diners) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.

SINGAPORE: A video showing a car mounting a kerb and crashing into a van at Geylang East Central has left many online wondering what caused the incident.

Footage shared by SGRV on June 4 appeared to show a Honda Civic leaving the roadway before colliding with a stationary BYD T3 van on the other side of the kerb.

The post’s caption suggested the footage could serve as evidence for the van owner when reporting the incident.

The unusual nature of the crash quickly drew attention online, with many viewers trying to figure out how the vehicle ended up off the road.

Some speculated that the driver may have fallen asleep behind the wheel or accidentally stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake. Others suggested a medical emergency may have played a role, although the cause of the crash has not been confirmed.

A number of commenters remarked that road accidents involving drivers losing control of their vehicles appear to be occurring more frequently, while others called for stricter penalties for dangerous driving offences.

The circumstances surrounding the crash remain unclear.

The incident comes weeks after a 74-year-old man was arrested following an alleged hit-and-run crash in Ubi involving three cars and a cyclist.

Footage from that incident showed a vehicle travelling towards a group of cyclists waiting at a traffic junction before crashing into bicycles, barricades and a traffic light. The vehicle also struck a taxi before driving away.

This article (Vehicle drove over a kerb and hit a van, netizens share opinions on what happened) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.

SINGAPORE: Stray cats also deserve to be loved. With this, a 21-year-old set up a page on social media to help save more than 100 stray cats in the western factory area and is eager to raise $200,000 to help these animals. 

As reported by Shin Min Daily News, the 21-year-old volunteer started a social media page last December to raise awareness of saving stray cats and finding adopters for them. Last month, the page shared that more than 100 cats are currently living in vacant factories in the western part of Singapore, where these animals are struggling to survive. Furthermore, some of the cats have reopened wounds, are malnourished, or are infested with fleas.

Additionally, some of the factories are going to be demolished, so the page appealed to cat lovers to help rescue these stray cats through an online crowdfunding campaign. 

“These cats did not choose this life. But today, we can choose differently for them. Please help us get them out in time…Thank you for being their chance,” the campaign declared. 

More details about the situation 

In an interview, the one who initiated the cause explained that she learned about the situation because of her father, who worked in the industrial area. Upon learning about the situation, she went to visit the site to investigate and found that the cats were distributed at the junction of the industrial area and the woods—a remote environment that makes rescuing quite difficult. 

She also pointed out that there are some cat lovers who take care of the stray cats, but some of them are already old and will lose their financial capabilities once they retire. 

With this, she launched a crowdfunding campaign in hopes of raising $200,000 for the cats’ relocation, medical treatments, boarding, and daily feeding expenses. 

Currently, her team has successfully rescued 30 cats, of which 23 are temporarily cared for by the cat feeders’ relatives and a few foster families, and the other seven are staying in stray cat organisations.

More so, she emphasised that the donations could also alleviate the financial burden for cat lovers who were helping the cats in the past years. She hopes that through public fundraising, she can at least cover six months of rescue and resettlement costs and give stray cats a chance to survive.

Know more about the campaign here. 

Authorities know about  the situation 

As stated by the Parks Board, they are aware of the presence of a community of cats in the factory areas. In response to an inquiry,  the National Parks Board is working closely with the Ministry of Manpower and Jurong Group to assist tenants and workers in the area, while also promoting the Stray Animal Sterilisation and Rehabilitation Program (TNRM) to strengthen sterilisation efforts and manage the cat population. 

The authorities also indicated that they will work closely with TNRM’s partners to further strengthen management efforts in the area. 

This article (Woman aims to raise $200,000 to help save 100 stray cats in a factory area) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.

SINGAPORE: For some Singaporean residents, rainy days are stressful as it is. However, people who are passing on the West Coast Expressway, near the industrial area around Boon Leat Terrace, are experiencing much more inconvenience when the water from the overpass is becoming like ‘mini waterfalls’ that further soak their clothes and shoes.

A 29-year-old resident admitted that she is facing this problem every time it rains heavily. In an interview, the resident shared that there were at least four places on the bridge where water would splash down, and even shielding herself using her umbrella was of no use, as reported by Shin Min Daily News. 

“The impact of the rain falling from the sky is strong, and my lower body will still get wet,” she claimed. 

Furthermore, a 30-year-old worker who works nearby stated that the sidewalk is the only route available for people to pass through, and they have to be extra careful every time it rains. The worker also declared that she has been working for two years near the bridge and has encountered the ‘mini waterfall’ no more than 10 times, but it is still troublesome when one gets wet. 

People believe that the waterfall is caused by poor drainage of the elevated highway, which leads to water accumulation on the bridge. “If possible, we hope the authorities can build covered walkways to solve this problem.” 

On the other hand, a 41-year-old driver also claimed that he would usually speed up while crossing the area to avoid being splashed by the water. He also declared that the authorities should check the drainage system of the overpass for the safety of the drivers and motorcyclists. 

Other related news 

In similar news related to water leaks, there was a report where many residents are bothered because of suspected leaking from the ceiling of the activity area of an HDB flat in Jurong East. 

This has been a concern for nearly a year, and many people are worried that residents, especially the elderly and the children, may slip and fall.  

Read more about the news story here. 

This article (Elevated bridge becomes ‘waterfall’ during downpour; residents demand covered walkways for safety) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.

SINGAPORE: A Go-Ahead Singapore bus captain was allegedly assaulted by a passenger after the commuter became upset over missing his bus stop while travelling on Bus Service 2 on May 23.

In a Facebook post, the transport operator said the incident happened at around 3:10 p.m.

“At about 3:10 p.m., the commuter grew angry after his bus stop was missed and proceeded to verbally abuse and physically assault our bus captain while he was driving,” Go-Ahead Singapore stated.

The company added that the trip was disrupted following the incident and that the bus captain later sought medical attention at Changi General Hospital.

Go-Ahead Singapore stressed that it does not tolerate any form of abuse or violence against public transport workers, warning that such behaviour puts staff, commuters, and other road users at risk.

“Our bus captains carry out their duties every day with professionalism and care to ensure commuters reach their destinations safely. They deserve respect and should not have to endure abuse in the course of their work,” the company added.

Many netizens also shared their thoughts on the incident online.

Some commenters speculated that there may have been more to the confrontation.

“There is a great chance that the driver say something rude and make the passenger angry. I had many exp with rude bus drivers. Yes, the passenger should not hit the driver but the driver is responsible for calming the situation,” one commenter wrote.

“Not condoning violence but it takes 2 hands to clap,” another said.

Others disagreed, saying there was no excuse for physically assaulting a public transport worker regardless of the circumstances.

One netizen wrote that disagreements should instead be resolved calmly or reported through the proper feedback channels.

Another commenter also praised Go-Ahead Singapore for publicly standing up for its employee.

“It makes them feel supported and not alone, giving them greater confidence to carry out their duties safely and confidently,” the commenter said.

This article (‘They deserve respect’: Go-Ahead Singapore speaks out after bus captain allegedly assaulted) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.

SINGAPORE: A very interesting yet disappointing experience happened when a netizen came across a bunch of tables being ‘choped’ by 35 water bottles at Punggol Coast Hawker Centre, and after a few minutes of waiting for the people who ‘reserved’ the seats, nobody showed up. 

On Reddit, the netizen took a picture of the incident and claimed: “The lunch crowd was starting to arrive but nobody showed up to claim these bottled.” 

With this, netizens expressed their thoughts and opinions in the comments section. One comment explained that there are no legal consequences for removing items used to chope seats. 

“Police also won’t entertain you if you complained, yes I’ve tried before, no legal consequences because of the absurd amount involved to do so,” the comment claimed. 

For some, they assumed that a company employees reserved the seats and remarked: “This is fine if the 20ish employees are actively queuing for food at the moment. It is not fine if the seats are ‘pre-booked’ for whatever event. Please shame this cheapskate company and report them to hawker management and MP.” 

One more netizen declared that companies should book a proper restaurant instead if they want to reserved such number of seats. 

A netizen also gave the benefit of the doubt and suspected that it is a marketing campaign since no one reclaimed the space. 

“Could be marketing campaign gone wrong? and they actually wanted to give away free samples, and people thought the packed water is use to chope the seat,” the comment concluded. 

The culture of ‘choping’ 

In Singapore, the practice of ‘choping’ or ‘seat hogging’ is common and is mostly done by many. This is to secure a seat in crowded places by placing items such as tissue packs, shopping bags, umbrellas, and phose cases on top of the table. These items serve as a temporary markers that the seats have been taken. 

While reserving seats this way may be acceptable for some, there should be limits to respect other people’s space and time. 

This article (Too much for Singapore’s ‘chope’ culture? 35 water bottles reserve 16 hawker seats in Singapore, owner vanishes) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.

SINGAPORE: A collision occurred on Brickland Road on June 2 when a truck failed to stop and rear-ended a motorcycle. On Facebook, a video was posted online that showed how the motorcycle driver had lost their balance and suddenly fallen due to the impact. Fortunately, the other motorcycle driver was safe from the incident. 

With this, many netizens expressed their thoughts and opinions on what had happened. One comment declared that in the video, the truck driver was clearly looking at his phone before the collision, which allegedly had caused the accident. 

“Must be crazy to rear-end the biker. Dreaming or what!!,” a netizen claimed. 

Another netizen also claimed that the rider should have called the ambulance for medical assistance, and that the police should have been dispatched as well. 

“The truck driver and his vehicle will be held for investigation,” the comment further added. 

However, some netizens blamed the motorcycle driver for the mistake, stating that he should have split lanes. 

“That’s why motorcycles need to split lanes,” a comment concluded. 

Other related news

In similar news related to road complaints, there was a report where an elderly woman was spotted travelling against traffic in her electric wheelchair on Qiaonan Road. 

It was very common in the area for elderly people to ride their electric wheelchairs; however, the Land Transport Authority has a rule that mobility aids are prohibited from driving on roads and may only be used on public walkways such as sidewalks.

Read more about the news story here. 

This article (Looking at his phone: Truck driver rear-ends one of the motors on Brickland Road, endangering others) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.

SINGAPORE: Renovating a house costs lots of hard-earned money, and it shouldn’t be put to waste. However, this is not the case for a woman who complained that she paid a contractor $280,000 for renovation, but wants to cancel the work because of dissatisfied service.

However, the woman ended up being sued for over $180,000 by the contractor, stating that everything was done according to what they had planned, and the fees were transparent right from the very start. 

Case details 

As reported by Shin Min Daily News, the 53-year-old woman living on Bedok Road stated in an interview that she had bought the terraced house in 2013. The house has leaks, and she wanted to renovate it. 

“Now that my children are grown up, I have more money and want to live here for a long time, so I decided to start the renovation.” 

With this, she hired a contractor to renovate the house, but was later on disappointed with their work. She shared that she found the contractor through an introduction, and agreed with the renovation agreement for more than $620,000. 

During the renovation process, she has always instructed the contractor to keep certain items, such as the air conditioner and fan. Unfortunately, the construction team damaged the air conditioner compressor and other items. 

 The woman remarked, “I am also dissatisfied with some of the charges, believing the prices are too high.” Alongside this, the woman also felt that the contractor’s attitude was poor, so she decided to cancel the renovation. 

In January of this year, the contractor demanded that the woman settle the remaining payment even when she wished to terminate the service. The contractor unexpectedly continued finishing the roof and even asked for more than $180,000 for additional construction fees, which she found unacceptable. 

By this time, the woman had already paid more than $280,000 and had doubts about the final payment, so she did not want to pay. 

“I also invited a quality inspector to check the construction items. I feel that many things were not done, and the house is in this state. How can I possibly pay?” she claimed. 

The contractor then explained in an interview that the renovation plan was finalised before construction even began, and all of their prices were transparent. They just started working after the homeowner signed off. 

Furthermore, the contractor stated that some of the items that the homeowner wanted to keep were quite old, and the woman had also signed an invoice for a new air conditioner. 

“If she disagrees with anything, we can sit down and talk it over; otherwise, how can we resolve the issue?,” the contractor stated. 

Given that both parties were unable to make an agreement on how things would go, the renovation project has been suspended for months. 

Other related news 

In similar news related to construction, construction noises from a college in Singapore have been a nuisance for residents living nearby for nearly 10 months now. 

The noises, which occur almost every single day, cause the residents to stay up late at night, causing great distress to many.

Read more about the news story here. 

This article (Woman tried to cancel renovation but still being pursued for by contractor of $180,000, says work is very disappointing) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.

SINGAPORE: Some residents at an HDB block in Yishun have taken matters into their own hands after growing frustrated with persistent bird problems, paying out of their own pockets to install barriers along their corridors.

According to Shin Min Daily News, one 68-year-old resident who has lived in the area for more than 30 years said crows have been disturbing his rest in the early mornings for the past two years.

He added that bird droppings became a major concern during renovation works at the block less than a year ago.

“There are people here feeding crows, pigeons and mynas. I have diabetes, so I’m worried about getting a bacterial infection if I get pecked,” he said.

Residents also pointed to bird droppings on common walkways and handrails. The problem is believed to be worsened by fruit-bearing trees in the area, which provide a food source for the birds.

Concerned about the situation, some residents have started installing barrier netting outside their homes to prevent birds from entering the corridors.

One resident said he paid for netting around his unit and even installed bird-proof mats on the fence outside a neighbour’s home.

Others shared their own encounters with the birds.

One resident recalled a recent incident involving crows near his home.

“Last week, crows flew to the window, probably attracted by the smell of food. Fortunately, they didn’t fly into the house because someone was in the kitchen,” he said.

Authorities have repeatedly reminded members of the public not to feed wild birds and to dispose of food waste properly, as both can attract birds and contribute to nuisance issues in residential areas.

In a separate case reported earlier this year, vendors and cleaners at hawker centres were found using laser pointers to scare birds away from food stalls.

Read more about the news story here. 

This article (Bird nuisance pushes Yishun residents to pay for their own bird barriers) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.

SINGAPORE: Construction noises from a college in Singapore have been a nuisance for residents living nearby for nearly 10 months now. The noises, which occur almost every single day, cause the residents to stay up late at night, causing great distress to many.

According to the notices posted at the construction site, the project includes two 12-story buildings for teaching, a 3-story multi-purpose hall, and an indoor gymnasium. This new campus is expected to open in January 2028. 

With this, a 43-year-old resident living at Jurong West Street shared that she only knew that she was living near a college campus that was under construction last August. With this information, she discovered that two schools had emerged, and the campus was vacant for a while before being rebuilt, as reported by Shin Min Daily News. 

The resident admitted that the noise from the early stages of the project was bearable. However, she shared: “For a period of time, they worked until about 10 p.m. almost every day, and once even until midnight, making it impossible for us to sleep.” 

Due to the stressful noises, the resident’s husband had reported the incident to the police twice and contacted the authorities more than three times. Moreover, they also filed a complaint through the OneService app early this year. With these reports, the National Environment Agency responded that they had taken appropriate actions to address the concerns. 

Unfortunately, the resident claimed that the situation has not yet improved, and even pointed out that at the beginning of this month, the construction site was still operating until about 10 PM. 

“In addition to the noise, there is also a lot of dust, and I have to close the windows every day,” she declared. 

Some residents believe that the construction period may be prolonged if the residents keep on complaining, and they will have to face such problems for a longer period of time. 

In response to queries, the National Environment Agency stated that the construction noise exceeded the legal limit, and enforcement action had been taken against the contractor. Furthermore, the authorities collaborated with the contractor to implement additional noise reduction measures at the construction site. 

The spokesperson from the contractor remarked that they understand the residents’ concerns and have reminded their team to minimise the impact on the surrounding environment. They will also make sure that work is completed during the day.

Other related news 

In similar news related to HDB complaints, there was a report where discarded mattresses had caused great inconvenience to residents when bedbugs were suspected to breed on the exterior walls, entering units. 

With this, some residents suffer from red and swollen arms after being bitten.

Read more about the news story here.

This article (‘The situation has not improved’: Ten months of non-stop construction noise leaves residents sleepless) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.

SINGAPORE: Many residents are bothered because of suspected leaking from the ceiling of the activity area of an HDB flat in Jurong East, and this has been a concern for nearly a year. With this, many people are worried that residents, especially the elderly and the children, may slip and fall.  

As reported by Shin Min Daily News, a 74-year-old driver complained that the ceiling of the activity area on the ground floor of their HDB flat has a leaking problem, and when reporters visited the site, it was found that there is indeed a concern, given that there is water and moss is forming on the ground. 

The resident also pointed out that every Monday to Friday morning, a group of people would come to their place to do aerobics, and that the number sometimes reaches over a hundred. However, because of the lakes, people need to deliberately avoid the areas affected, which is very inconvenient. 

Furthermore, a 73-year-old resident admitted that the authorities had conducted repairs to the ceilings, but the leak continued even after. She believes that the leaks are from the water pipes in the kitchen or toilet of the second-floor resident, because the water still seeps in even when it is not raining. 

The Town Council then confirmed that they had received the feedback about the leak last May 2024 and identified the source after further investigation. With this, the authorities contacted the affected residents to arrange waterproofing repairs inside their units.

More so, to minimise the impact on residents, the town council has taken several temporary measures downstairs, into the relevant areas during the HDB renovation and repainting work in June last year. They also cleaned up the stains and applied anti-slip treatment to the ground.

However, due to the recent worsening of the water seepage, authorities need to conduct more direct repairs on the affected units. They have temporarily closed the affected area below the leak to ensure public safety.

Other related news 

In other similar news, there was a report where a resident of a Yishun HDB flat recently raised safety concerns after concrete blocks began falling from the ceiling of his unit, causing cracks in parts of the ceiling and walls. 

The building where the unit is located is said to be 42 years old, and when reporters visited the area, many residents unfortunately reported similar problems. 

Read more about the story here. 

This article (Jurong East HDB residents alarmed as year-long ground-floor leaks risk slips for elderly and children) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.

SINGAPORE: A supposedly quick visit to their children’s school turned into a very unfortunate incident when two fathers got into an argument over a parking space. The incident happened last August 6, 2025, at Punggol Drive, where an octogenarian mother was injured in the process. 

As reported by Shin Min Daily News, a 42-year-old father pleaded guilty to one charge of disturbing the peace on May 28. Furthermore, the judge also fined him with $4,000 for another charge of criminal violence. 

Case details 

Case investigations revealed that the suspect drove to the location to pick up his child. Another suspect, a 58-year-old father, was also driving to the same school with his 80-year-old mother to pick up his son as well. 

However, when one of the suspects arrived at the roundabout, he saw the other suspect’s car parked near the roundabout exit with hazard lights on. With this, the suspect drove to the open space in front of the garbage bin near the other car, parked, and walked around the other suspect’s vehicle. 

Seeing that his parking space was occupied, the other suspect angrily honked his horn and rolled down his window to question the other father, claiming that he originally planned to back into that empty space where the other vehicle was parked. 

The other father just ignored the remarks and left. With this, the other party reversed and intentionally blocked the other’s car way while his mother got out to pick up his child. 

When the other father returned, he found that his car was blocked and he was unable to leave. The father thought that the other man intentionally blocked his way. He then asked his maid to take his child away to the scene to wait for him. 

When the other man’s mother returned with her grandson, the other father took out his phone and took pictures of the other vehicle. When the mother and son got into the car, the father began to leave, but confronted the other man first. 

The mother got out of the car in hopes of stopping the misunderstanding, but she was hit by the other man, lost her balance, and fell to the ground. Seeing that his mother was injured, the other father became aggressive, and a physical altercation happened. 

Both parties sought medical attention after the fight. One suffered a cut to his cheek from a broken glass, while the other sustained a scrape to his knee. 

Several cars had witnessed the argument, and nearby residents called the police after hearing the commotion. 

Other related news 

In similar news related to disputes, there was a recent report about a fight over a bicycle parking space in an HDB block. With this, an elderly woman splashed an unknown liquid and bleach on her neighbour’s door. 

While on bail, she even sprayed insecticide towards her neighbour and daughter, causing them to be hospitalised due to mild poisoning.

Read more about the news story here.

This article (Just because of a parking space? Two fathers got into a fight while picking up their child from school, elderly woman injured) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.