Singapore actor Chew Chor Meng's eldest daughter Chloe has graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS).

According to 8world, Chloe graduated from NUS' Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

Chew's wife, Chen Yixuan, penned an emotional message to mark the occasion.

Wife's emotional tribute

Chen shared a series of graduation photos on Instagram alongside a heartfelt message to their daughter.

She wrote: "Happy Graduation, my dear daughter. We are so proud of the woman you have become. May God continue to bless and guide you always.”

Chen described Chloe as someone who has always brought joy to the family, praising her for being self-disciplined, mature, responsible, and never giving her parents cause for worry.

As Chloe prepares to begin the next milestone, Chen said she hoped her daughter would approach every joy and challenge with courage, faith, and humility.

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Chew absent from ceremony

Based on photos shared on Instagram, Chew did not appear to have attended the graduation ceremony in person.

He was only pictured with Chloe at home, where he was seen perched on a high stool.

According to 8world, his absence could be related to health conditions he has been experiencing in recent years, which might have affected his mobility.

Chew suffers from Kennedy's disease, a rare condition that leads to muscular atrophy.

He was diagnosed in 2008 with the condition, which results in wasting and weakening of muscles, affecting mobility, as well as speaking and swallowing abilities.

The disease affects one out of 40,000 in Singapore.

There is no cure for it, only the allaying of symptoms.

The police have arrested a 21-year-old Australian woman for her involvement in a case of shop theft committed in the transit area of Changi Airport Terminal 1.

On Jun. 12, 2026 at about 12:05am, the police were alerted to a case of shop theft at The Shilla Duty Free outlet located in the departure transit area of Changi Airport Terminal 1.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the retail staff had discovered a missing box of perfume, valued at S$312.80, from the display shelf on Jun. 11 at about 11:30pm.

Surveillance footage showed the woman taking the item from the display shelf and leaving the shop without making payment.

The woman’s identity was later established and she was arrested upon her return to Singapore on Jul. 18.

The woman was slated to be charged in court on Jul. 24 with the offence of theft in dwelling.

The offence carries a jail term of up to seven years, a fine, or both.

The police said retailers are increasingly leveraging surveillance footage to lodge police reports against shoplifters, even when immediate apprehension is not possible.

"This serves as a significant deterrent – even if offenders manage to evade detection at the time of the offence," the police said.

Such evidence greatly increases the likelihood of their eventual identification, and they will face the full brunt of the law, the police added.

A 28-year-old Malaysian man was arrested for allegedly being a member of a money laundering syndicate.

As a result of information provided by MariBank, the syndicate was disrupted in March 2026 during Operation Frontier+ III, a joint two-month operation targeting transnational scams.

It was conducted by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) in partnership with nine foreign law enforcement agencies.

Arrest

On Jul. 20, the man was detained at Kuala Lumpur International Airport after a warrant of arrest was issued by Singapore authorities.

He was subsequently handed over to the Singapore police on Jul. 21.

The man was slated to be charged on Jul. 22 for abetment by conspiracy to assist another person in retaining benefits from criminal conduct.

If convicted, offenders are liable to a maximum jail term of 10 years, a fine up to S$500,000, or both.

The police expressed gratitude towards the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) for their cooperation and assistance in facilitating the arrest.

The police also commended MariBank for their cooperation.

Law

From Dec. 30, 2025, convicted scammers and members or recruiters of scam syndicates are liable to at least six strokes of the cane, up to a maximum of 24 strokes.

Convicted scam mules who enable scammers by laundering scam proceeds are liable to face discretionary caning of up to 12 strokes.

This includes certain money laundering offences under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act.

The police said they take a serious stance against anyone who may be involved in scams, and perpetrators will be dealt with in accordance with the law.

The police also reminded members of the public to never transfer cash, jewellery or other valuables to unknown persons whose identity has not been verified, never leave money or valuables at a location to facilitate subsequent collection, and never share the screen of devices or disclose login credentials to anyone unknown.

The government will also never ask to transfer money over the phone, request banking login details, instruct the installation of mobile apps from unofficial app stores, or transfer the call to the police.

For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamshield.gov.sg or call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799.

A 41-year-old former teacher was sentenced on Jul. 23 to two years' jail after he made indecent advances on his underage female students.

The man, who was married at the time of his offences, made one student sit on his lap and call him "daddy".

Both students reported him to the school principal, and he was found guilty of three counts of performing an indecent act with a child, and one count of sexual grooming.

There is a gag order on details about the man and the school to protect the student's identity.

Inappropriate messages

Court documents seen by Mothership stated that the man, who taught design and technology (D&T) classes at the school, had become a fully trained teacher in 2014.

In 2022, he got to know one of the students when she was between 13 and 14 years old.

The man and the girl often met at the school's D&T studio, where he would provide consultations for her.

He also helped her with mathematics despite not teaching the subject.

They regularly communicated over WhatsApp over a period of about five months, having extensive conversations that frequently took place after 6:30pm, including about personal matters.

Court documents stated: "During these conversations, the complainant addressed the accused as 'daddy', 'dearest daddy', and similar variations from... 2022 to the end of January 2023.

"In return, the accused addressed the complainant as his 'dearest daughter' and variations of the term."

Unsolicited comments on physical appearances

In addition, the man frequently gave the student unsolicited compliments on her physical appearance no less than 24 times.

He also told the student in a message that has since been deleted, that he would date her in the future, marry her and make her his wife.

The man knew that communicating with the student in this manner was inappropriate and violated the Code of Conduct.

Vanishing mode

He was then warned by his subject head around Nov. 16, 2022, that it was inappropriate for the student to call him "daddy".

The man was also warned to keep his distance from the student.

Court documents stated that after receiving the warning, "the accused deleted all the photos that the complainant had sent to him via WhatsApp and instructed the complainant to 'unstar' messages that he had sent to her, delete all photos and messages between them, in case her phone was checked".

Subsequently in the same conversation, the man suggested moving their conversations to Instagram with the use of "vanishing mode", which is a chat mode specifically designed to prevent screenshots and screen recordings of messages.

Inappropriate physical advances

From September to November 2022, they met at least five times where he would hug her and kiss her cheeks.

During one meeting in the D&T room, the man instructed the girl to sit on his lap, which she did despite feeling uncomfortable.

Court documents stated: "He stroked her stomach with his thumb for about a minute. The accused also hugged the complainant more than 10 times and kissed her on the cheeks and forehead... Furthermore, when she was sitting on his lap, the accused told her that he had not had sex with his wife in two years."

On Nov. 28, 2022, in a car that the man had rented, he kissed her cheeks while she sat on his lap and she did the same.

He also told her several times that she was not to tell anyone what happened between that day in case his actions were perceieved as grooming, to which she complied.

There were no meetings between the pair in December 2022.

The next time they met was in January 2023, at an alley behind the school hall, where the man hugged the girl and she hugged him back.

He also kissed her forehead a few times and told her "I love you" and "I miss you" several times, and the girl reciprocated by saying the same.

Treated girl poorly

Court documents stated that in May 2023, the man suddenly told the girl that they could not "be close" anymore, which she understood to mean that they could no longer hug, kiss, refer to each other as "dad"/"daddy" or "daughter", or use words of affection.

After that, the man began treating the girl poorly, specifically calling her "mentally ill", telling her that she was demanding, and avoided her whenever they walked past each other.

The girl testified that in the initial stage, she felt devastated from receiving such treatment from the man and her academic grades began to plummet.

However, over subsequent months, she began to realise that she may have been groomed by the man after listening to her schoolmates talk about the man touching girls on their heads and his bias towards female students.

Reported, arrested

After finding out that the man had also supposedly been making advances on another female student, she suggested that they report him to the school principal together.

The Straits Times reported that the man was arrested and charged in court in 2024.

Defence lawyer Kalaithasan Karuppaya told ST after the case ended that his client had left his job after he was suspended.

A father in Taiwan became the sole surviving member of his family after his wife and both his sons died in separate traffic accidents involving drink-driving and riding without a licence over the years.

Most recently, his 17-year-old son died on Jul. 21 after colliding with a tree while riding a scooter drunk and without a licence.

He was on his way to a sunrise spot with his friends.

A girl, 17, who was riding pillion, also died in the accident.

Collided with a tree

According to ET Today, the 17-year-old, surnamed Liu (transliteration), was heading to a sunrise spot in Tainan city along with three other friends.

In the wee hours of Jul. 21, Liu collided with a tree and the scooter caught fire.

Both Liu and the girl succumbed to their injuries after being conveyed to the hospital.

Police investigations later revealed that Liu did not have a licence.

Blood tests also indicated that blood alcohol levels were above limits.

Wife and other son also died in traffic accidents

When interviewed by the media, Liu's father lamented: "Last year, his elder brother also died after riding a scooter without a licence. This year, it's his turn."

The elder son was also aged 17 when he passed.

When praying for his younger son, the father said, "If you wanted to die, you shouldn't have dragged someone else with you."

The father shared that the night before the incident, he had warned his son not to ride the scooter.

However, the son took the scooter using the spare key.

The father revealed that his wife had passed away after a drink-driving incident back when his sons were still toddlers.

She was drink-driving when she collided with a bridge column and was flung out of the vehicle.

According to the man, she was 24 at the time.

United States President Donald Trump will impose new tariffs ranging from 10 to 12.5 per cent on goods from 60 trading partners from Jul. 24.

Singapore is on the list of countries the U.S. Trade Representative alleged to have failed to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labour, according to a Jul. 23 memorandum.

Singapore will be hit with a 12.5 per cent rate, along with 37 other countries including China, Reuters reported.

Countries such as Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, the United Kingdom, and Mexico will get a lower 10 per cent.

They will take effect just as the current 150-day temporary 10 per cent tariffs expire at the start of Jul. 24, U.S. time.

Allegations previously rejected by MTI

The new tariffs are the result of investigations the U.S. Trade Representative launched in March 2026 into countries that allegedly do not properly enforce a forced labour import ban.

These countries include Singapore.

Previously on Jul. 6, Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry stated that "Singapore does not condone the use of forced labor in supply chains", and its import regulations are consistent with international rules and practices.

"There is no evidence of Singapore’s role in the supply chains of goods associated with forced labor exported to the U.S."

The allegations have also been rejected by other countries.

The foreign minister of Norway, also included in the list, said, "There is no basis for this tariff against Norway because we already have clear rules that are intended to prevent trade in goods produced using forced labor."

A corrective action

Announcing the new duties on Jul. 23, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said:

"The United States has had a forced labor import ban for nearly a century, and rigorously enforces it; it’s well past time for our trading partners to do the same.

Today’s action will begin to correct what is both a human rights abuse and distortive trade practice to improve the welfare of workers everywhere."

The tariffs will be imposed under Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974, which governs trade enforcement of practices that burden or restrict American commerce, BBC reported.

This means they will be subject to less legal risk of being struck down by the Supreme Court, as Trump's previous sweeping tariffs were in February, according to Reuters.

The new duties account for 99.4 per cent of U.S. imports, but goods such as steel, aluminium, oil and gas, fertiliser, and certain food items will be exempted.

Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC has released its annual report for FY2025/26, posting a 3.4 per cent real rate of return and 5.6 per cent nominal return in USD terms over a 20-year period ending Mar. 31, 2026.

Anthropic, the U.S. company behind the Claude AI models, was featured as one of its key AI investments.

How GIC invests

GIC's portfolio is globally diversified across three broad asset groups: Equities (56 per cent), Fixed Income (22 per cent) and Real Assets (22 per cent) as at Mar. 31, 2026.

Geographically, the Americas account for the largest share at 53 per cent, followed by Asia Pacific at 22 per cent and Europe, Middle East and Africa at 19 per cent.

Beyond AI, GIC is also expanding significantly in hedge funds, planning to deploy US$30 billion (S$38.7 billion) over the next three years having already tripled its hedge fund investments over the past decade.

The fund is also investing in infrastructure, including utilities, transport and digital infrastructure, as well as venture capital focused on category-creating companies across the AI value chain.

GIC backed Anthropic three times in under a year

GIC has backed Anthropic three times in under a year. It first invested in Sep. 2025, then led a US$30 billion (S$38.7 billion) funding round in Feb. 2026, valuing Anthropic at US$380 billion (S$490.4 billion).

It then co-led a US$65 billion (S$83.9 billion) round in May 2026, valuing the company at US$965 billion (approx. S$1.2 trillion).

GIC did not disclose the size of its current stake.

Anthropic's run-rate revenue rose from around US$9 billion at the end of 2025 to roughly US$47 billion (S$60.7 billion) today, a more than fivefold increase in under a year.

GIC does not just invest in Anthropic. It also uses Claude, Anthropic's AI model, internally as part of its own enterprise AI platform, alongside GPT, making it simultaneously a backer and a user of the product it helped fund.

Why GIC is bullish on AI

GIC said in its report that its confidence in AI as a long-term investment has grown steadily since it first invested in the space in 2022.

The report stated:

"Since then, we have furthered our conviction in this space as AI has reached a point of real-world impact.

It is no longer a question of whether it can create economic value, but where and how fast.

Just two years ago, that was an open debate, but it no longer is."

GIC's Enterprise AI Survey, conducted in Q1 2026 across nearly 200 North American companies spanning technology, healthcare, financial services and consumer sectors, found that more than half of respondents ranked AI among their top three priorities, with one in five placing it as their single topmost priority.

Enterprises are already reaping savings from AI adoption across finance, customer service, customer onboarding and non-software research and development, the GIC report said.

How GIC picks AI winners

Rather than seeking broad exposure to AI, GIC said it invests granularly using two frameworks.

The first maps where to look across the AI value chain, split into three categories: Enablers, which build foundational infrastructure such as computing hardware and energy systems; Monetisers, which develop AI-powered products and services; and Adopters, which integrate AI into existing operations to improve processes and unlock growth.

The second framework defines what to look for in each company, what GIC calls the three Ms:

1. Moat, or structural advantages such as proprietary data and governance.
2. Management, meaning leaders who turn AI into real business outcomes and reskill their workforce.
3. Momentum, the self-reinforcing cycle where early wins generate better data and better AI performance.

GIC's other AI bets

Beyond Anthropic, GIC highlighted four other AI investments in its report.

Databricks, a data and AI platform used by over 20,000 organisations globally, which GIC has backed across multiple funding rounds. Its revenue run-rate stands at US$5.4 billion (S$S$6.97 billion), growing over 65 per cent year-on-year.

Ramp, a financial operations platform that uses AI to automate corporate expense management, which GIC has backed eight times. Its latest funding round valued the company at US$44 billion (S$56.8 billion), and over two-thirds of its code is now written by its own internal AI tool.

athenahealth, a cloud-based healthcare software provider that GIC co-invested in alongside Hellman & Friedman and Bain Capital in 2022. Its AI medical coding has helped some medical practices recover 30 per cent more revenue on initially denied insurance claims.

Eli Lilly, the world's largest pharmaceutical company by market value, which has its own NVIDIA supercomputer called LillyPod and works with AI-native companies including Isomorphic Labs.

AI and sustainability: a double-edged force

GIC also flagged AI's growing impact on the sustainability landscape, describing it as both a challenge and an opportunity for investors.

The International Energy Agency estimates that global electricity consumption by data centres will more than double by 2030, accounting for roughly 10 per cent of the expected increase in global power demand.

This surge is driving investment in nuclear power, renewables and natural gas to diversify energy supply.

At the same time, GIC noted that AI is emerging as a catalyst for sustainability innovation, enabling more efficient energy management, predictive maintenance for renewable assets, optimisation of grid operations, and breakthroughs in materials science, carbon capture technologies and climate modelling that could lower the cost and complexity of decarbonisation.

It sees opportunities in businesses that strengthen energy resilience, including regulated electric networks and utilities, grid efficiency solutions, and power equipment businesses with strong pricing power.

The fund also noted that expanding renewable capacity remains the quickest way to add electricity supply, while modernising power grids is essential to integrate low-carbon sources and maintain reliability.

Risks GIC is watching

GIC acknowledged it is cautious about near-term risks in the AI space, including stretched valuations, over-regulation, business model uncertainty as the industry figures out where to deploy the most advanced models, and bottlenecks to growth such as power, compute and memory constraints.

The report noted that hyperscaler capital expenditure is now approaching 2 per cent of United States GDP, and that while efficiency gains from better chip design are helping, AI infrastructure's supply chain and power constraints will persist.

GIC CEO Lim Chow Kiat said in a statement:

"We will continue to focus on active investing which requires the judgement to allocate capital well and with granularity, the discipline to stay diversified, and the agility to act when good opportunities arise.

By combining these strengths with our long-term horizon, we are confident that we can keep delivering good real returns for Singapore over the years ahead."

A Thai woman was seen pretending to only speak English after she was confronted for apparently colliding with a motorcycle.

The incident occurred on a road in Mae Hong Son, Thailand, The Thaiger reported.

In a Facebook post by local police on Jul. 17, the motorcyclist parked his motorcycle in front of the woman’s vehicle to prevent her from driving away.

The caption on the video read: “Woman flees after hitting another car!! Pretends to speak English.”

Confronted in Thai

The woman was seen sitting in her car as the motorcyclist confronted her.

The motorcyclist said in Thai: “Hey, you crashed into me. No apologies and drove this far. What happened to Thai people?”

She then repeatedly said, “What?”

The motorcyclist then claimed that his vehicle was scratched and his body was bruised as a result of the collision.

The woman proceeded to speak unintelligibly, as though she was speaking English.

Not buying her antics, the motorcyclist responded: “Don’t pretend to be a foreigner. Your face and body look very Thai.”

The woman asked in response: “Speak English?”

Throughout the exchange, the woman exited her vehicle and continued to deflect his accusations, while speaking in an unintelligible manner.

The motorcyclist said at one point: “Don’t pretend to be stupid. You crashed into me.”

Near the end of the video, the re-entered her vehicle and said, “I’m sorry.”

She then continued to speak unintelligibly.

It was unclear how the incident was resolved.

A luxury sports car was seen engulfed in flames on the East Coast Parkway (ECP) expressway on the evening of Jul. 23.

As seen in a video submitted to Mothership and in a photo circulated online, a green Lamborghini Gallardo was on fire and the flames were being put out by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).

The back of the vehicle, where the engine is situated, appeared charred.

In response to Mothership's queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they were alerted to a fire along ECP towards Changi, before the Still Road South exit at about 5:20pm on Thursday.

The fire, which involved the engine compartment of a car, was extinguished by SCDF using a water jet.

There were no reported injuries.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The issue of energy resilience for Asean is not new, said Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan, but the war in the Middle East has elevated its sense of urgency and importance.

While "no one is seriously arguing against it" at this stage, the current challenge is one of execution.

Potential energy capacity

Vivian was in Manila, the Philippines, from Jul. 20 to Jul. 24 to attend the 59th Asean Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM) and other related meetings.

Addressing the media in a wrap-up interview on Jul. 23, he responded to a question from Mothership about the importance of renewable energy in Asean, given the flare-up of the conflict in the Middle East.

Vivian pointed out that Asean does not have a say in the resolution of the conflict in the Middle East. "We really cannot even say when and how a resolution will come about," he said,

He added: "But the larger point is this: if you actually do a catalogue of Asean's potential energy capacity, not just in fossil fuels, oil and gas, which Asean does have," it has great potential in renewable energy.

While Asean does have access to geothermal, solar and wind as sources of energy, they require investment as well as capital and technology in order to bring it to fruition.

Vivian pointed out that achieving this will create a situation where Asean is not only more energy resilient, but also more dependent on renewable energy, and "therefore also doing our part for a lower carbon future".

Challenge is execution

Noting that "the opportunity, the need for it has always been there", he said "what recent events have done is to raise the sense of urgency, and we are trying to do that".

He added that projects like the Asean power grid goes beyond just the laying of cables.

It goes beyond the arguments about fees, technical aspects of the equipment needed, "to actually create a sense that look, we are all better off if we can engage in collective investments, in raising our capacity, it makes us more resilient".

Pointing out that "the challenge is execution", Vivian said "it makes us more competitive, and it better prepares us for the future".

Preserving Asean's neutrality and centrality

Vivian also spoke about preserving Asean's neutrality and centrality as Singapore navigates relationships with countries such as the U.S. and China.

Addressing the issue of "the U.S. and China contestation", Vivian said, "To their credit, both of them are trying to approach this in a careful, deliberate, and constructive way."

He added: "In particular, I would say I'm glad that at least at this point in time, neither of them are forcing us to choose sides, they know Asean's priorities, which is still to develop our economies, to integrate and gain access to the latest technologies, and that we are still interested in free trade, in giving more opportunities to our people."

Vivian said this is a time to work together, and for the middle powers and Asean to affirm international law, cooperation and not to resort to "unilateral or coercive measures."

Robust, candid discussions

Vivian shared that he had "good robust, candid discussions" in his meetings, and "both dealing with immediate problems and looking forward to the future".

He said issues discussed included the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, as well as the recent escalation, including acts on Saudi tankers in the Red Sea that highlight the fragility of global supply chains.

This has impact on Asean in terms of energy, fertiliser, and food.

To that, he highlighted the impact on international law, "in particular the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the right transit passage through straits used for international navigation".

He said: "I'm glad to report that amongst all the speeches made by a very wide range of foreign ministers, everyone doubled down on the need to comply with international law to maintain the primacy of armed cloths and freedom of navigation and overflight."

Vivian also said the issues discussed touched on whether countries other than the superpowers could get access to technologies of the future.

59th Asean Foreign Ministers' Meeting

According to a Jul. 20 press statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the AMM was to reaffirm the Ministers' commitment to Asean unity and Centrality, as well as discuss ways to advance Asean integration and community-building initiatives under the Philippines' Chairmanship theme of "Navigating Our Future, Together".

A Jul. 21 MFA press statement noted that Vivian had a wide-ranging discussion with his Asean counterparts on deepening regional integration, strengthening Asean's capacity to respond to developments in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence and supply chain resilience, as well as harnessing the potential of the digital and green economies.