A video about the simple lifestyle of a 55-year-old man in Singapore, who retired at age 35, has blown up online.

Colin Lau shared about his life and his unorthodox approach to his finances in a Jul. 24, 2026 video by CNA Insider.

The video has been viewed 1.7 million times in under a week.

His story

Lau said he was traumatised as a child after seeing his aunt cry about being retrenched.

His aunt informed him then that it was normal for people to get retrenched at around age 45.

He then pledged to save as much money as he humanly could to avoid the same fate.

Lo and behold, he got retrenched at 35 instead of 45.

The language learning centre he worked for shut down after the building was demolished.

It was a massive blow.

He "cried and cried", he wrote on Facebook.

Buying a house to generate cash flow

However, he learned from a property agent about a way to generate cash flow.

As a single man who had hit 35 years old, he was able to buy the cheapest flat he could afford to pay in full and rent out a room.

He ended up purchasing a S$87,000 three-room flat in 2007 that had about 64 years left on its lease.

He did not take a loan as you "lose a lot of money by paying mortgages", he wrote.

The flat was built in 1971, the year Lau was born — he could live there till he turns 99.

Renting out room paid for flat

He also revealed that he recouped the cost of his flat after renting out a room for eight years.

This works out to about S$900 a month in rent that he still collects to this day from a tenant.

He explained his financial thinking: "I bought a cheap flat. Eight years later, the cheap flat is free of charge for me. And then the price of the flat went up."

Gets S$2,500 cash flow per month

Besides asset appreciation, Lau's life, as shared, revolved around saving aggressively, spending very little, and setting the rest of his money aside to be invested or used for another day.

He said of his approach: "Everybody was spending money like water, I was spending like a test tube."

He also estimated that he saved the bulk of what he earned: "I don't know, maybe, 80 per cent? I think it's pretty high, right? Sometimes it was 90 per cent."

These days, he receives payouts from insurance plans that he purchased when he was younger.

His cash flow is about S$2,500 a month, inclusive of the money he makes as a landlord.

He said he spends less than S$150 a month these days.

He continues to save the remainder of this S$2,500 monthly payout for the day he needs a helper to take care of him or check into a nursing home when he grows old as a bachelor.

He urged people not to save on the small things, but focus on the big ticket items, such as housing: "The real saving is when you save on the expensive stuff."

He admitted that he does not eat much as he wants to manage his blood glucose level.

He wrote that he was fat before and he is now thin and he chooses to be thin so that he would not have gut issues.

What he has been doing with his life

Lau writes in a self-deprecating tone.

This is evident from his Facebook post where he called himself "an extreme cheapskate".

He also revealed in his interview that he enjoys music, reading, and listening to podcasts — activities that are free and stimulate him mentally.

Trade-offs

But some of the trade-offs he has had to make included not being able to buy a bigger home or have children of his own.

He keeps a dog though.

Health issues have also cropped up.

In June 2025, his feet became swollen and he fainted.

He was found by his neighbours.

He underwent 15 surgeries and had a 62-day hospital stay.

His hospital bill came up to S$146,000.

But he paid nothing out of pocket as he chose the lowest ward class and had insurance coverage.

Helping the underprivileged in the Philippines

With all his free time on hand, Lau spends it helping others too.

He wrote that he has a "weird" hobby: Dumpster diving.

He will find items that are too good to be thrown away and have them shipped to Manila in the Philippines.

He was able to liaise with a cargo ship boss who would pack the cargo ship with loose items to make use of any free space on board.

Lau wrote: "Yes, very poor people in Manila slums will fight for the stuff that people in Singapore throw away in perfect condition."

"I never get upset with my Singapore people for throwing away stuff that look brand new."

Lau runs a Facebook page that collects usable items from people in Singapore.

It's official: Marmite — the dark, sticky and savoury British yeast extract spread — has been delisted by its distributor, Unilever International, in Singapore.

A Marmite spokesperson confirmed the move to Mothership, saying the company understands that consumers may be disappointed when their favourite products are no longer available.

"Marmite has a loyal following of lovers (and haters!) around the world and we understand that consumers are disappointed when their favourite products are delisted," the spokesperson said.

They added that the company continually reviews product availability across different markets and will continue working with its partners to ensure that as many Marmite lovers in Singapore as possible can continue to enjoy the iconic British condiment.

Delisted in Singapore and Malaysia

Mothership understands the Marmite brand has been delisted both in Singapore and Malaysia.

Marmite continues to be manufactured in Burton upon Trent in the United Kingdom (UK) and is available across UK retailers and other export markets.

Meanwhile, supermarkets in Singapore said they are looking for alternative stocks of Marmite amid its disappearance from local shelves.

About Marmite

First created by the Marmite Food Company in 1902, Marmite is produced from a by-product of beer brewing.

It is a vegan source of B vitamins and is traditionally spread thinly on buttered toast.

Marmite is now manufactured by the British company Unilever.

It was distributed to Singapore via Unilever Singapore.

Reuters reported that between late 2025 and early 2026, Unilever considered selling Marmite and Bovril, as well as other British brands to trim the portfolio of the company.

Bovril is a beef extract paste similar to Marmite.

Three women, aged between 32 and 38, were arrested for affray on Jul. 26 and given warnings on Jul. 27.

Videos of the fight that took place at Paya Lebar circulated online, with many speculating that the women were foreign domestic workers.

The police confirmed with Mothership that they were alerted to a fight at 10 Paya Lebar Road at about 11:45am on Jul. 26.

The three women sustained minor injuries but refused conveyance to the hospital, police said.

Given warnings

The police said that they administered warnings to the three women on Jul. 27 for the offence of affray under Section 267B of the Penal Code 1871.

This was in consultation with the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC), upon completion of investigations and after careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case, they said.

What happened

Videos of the altercation showed a woman in a black shirt pulling the hair of a woman in red.

Several other women attempted to intervene, but were unable to stop the fight.

The women appeared to have been having picnics on a grassy patch by the roadside before the incident.

At one point, the woman in black was seen on top of the woman in red, pressing down on her head.

The struggle continued until the woman in black was pulled away by others.

The woman in red then got to her feet and confronted a woman in brown standing beside the woman in black, who had walked away by that point.

The two women exchanged heated words before grabbing at each other.

A cyclist then attempted to break up the fight, saying that she would call the police.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is studying the possibility of introducing a new form of public transport, the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) System in Tuas South, in a bid to improve the area's connectivity.

With a medium capacity that is higher than a regular bus and greater flexibility than the MRT or LRT, the BRT will be used to provide workers with faster connections to and from existing and future MRT stations.

Improving connectivity

The plan was announced by Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow at the launch of Phase Three of the Cross Island Line's (CRL) construction on Jul. 31.

The connectivity of the Tuas area currently depends mainly on the existing East-West Line, he said.

While the situation has been improved with the extension of the EWL, as well as the upcoming CRL and Jurong Region Line, Siow said that it is not uncommon for candidates applying for jobs in Tuas Port to miss their job interviews out of inconvenience of getting there.

"As technology improves, I think more options will open up."

What's the BRT System?

The BRT System, currently already implemented in a number of cities like Shanghai, Seoul and Istanbul, is a cost-effective option being explored to solve this problem.

They can be articulated high-capacity buses or track-less trams that travel on dedicated lanes with priority at traffic junctions.

BRT stations are optimised for quick boarding and alighting through off-board fare collection at stations and platform-level boarding.

Traditionally, systems in this capacity require dedicated infrastructure involving rails, power and signalling, though many major cities are now able to do without them, Siow pointed out.

Conventional BRTs, such as those in Shanghai and Seoul, utilise buses of varying lengths.

These can be single, or two or three-sectioned.

Tram-like BRTs, on the other hand, are an evolved concept that use longer, tram-like vehicles with driver's cabins at both ends.

They also use auto-assisted driving via virtual guidance and have wider, multiple doors to enable faster boarding and alighting than a conventional articulated bus design.

LTA is evaluating the range of BRT options for Tuas South, the statutory board said.

The government has taken possession of the site at 38 Oxley Road, the location of the former home of ex-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.

The site was previously gazetted for acquisition on Jan. 29.

In a joint statement on Jul. 31, 2026, the National Heritage Board (NHB) and the Singapore Land Authority added that in the meantime, there will be no public access to the site while NHB studies options for future development into a public space.

You can read the full statement below:

"The Government has completed the acquisition process and took possession of the site at 38 Oxley Road (the “Site”) today, to preserve it in keeping with its historic significance and national importance.

The acquisition follows from the Site’s gazette as a National Monument on 12 December 2025, and its subsequent gazette for acquisition on 29 January 2026.

The National Heritage Board (NHB) will undertake a detailed study of the Site and the options for how it can be developed into a public space in a manner that respects Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s wishes for privacy.

In the interim, necessary maintenance works will be carried out as required, and there will be no public access to the Site."

Lee Hsien Yang's response

Earlier in the day, Lee Hsien Yang, son of former PM Lee Kuan Yew and brother of former PM and current Senior Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, posted on Facebook about the issue.

Titled "Look On My Works", a reference to Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem Ozymandias, Hsien Yang railed against the decision, referring again to his father's "crystal clear" wish to demolish the home.

NHB previously stated that the government “has committed to respecting Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s wishes to protect his family’s privacy”.

This would be done by removing “all traces of their private living spaces" from the interior of the house.

“Under no circumstances will the interior of the house, as Mr Lee knew, be displayed, recorded, remodelled or duplicated elsewhere.”

These days, Annette Lee's life has taken an almost dreamlike slant.

Her Instagram feed is a whirlwind of glitzy red carpets and glitzier magazine covers. Even her famous self-starred skits have taken on a more cinematic edge.

Her bio says "actor-filmmaker" and there's really little reason to doubt it. Lee's debut movie, "Dream Stall", was received with an almost startling warmth by an ordinarily frigid Singaporean audience, from media outlets to MPs.

It's possibly the most artistic success a local filmmaker has seen since Anthony Chen's "Ilo Ilo" in 2013.

A few months ago though, she was just another Singaporean influencer being slammed on an Internet forum. Told to stay in her own lane, don't waste money, exactly who does she think she is?

Who she is

The 34-year-old actually does have roots in film.

In university, Lee majored in digital filmmaking. She only switched to acting (and, thereafter, social media) after joining SGAG in 2016.

"Back then, there were no videos [in SGAG], so I started the video team... That's how I ended up on screen," she says.

"I had to be a one-man show. I'd shoot everything, write everything... I'd direct, produce, and edit it.

Then I'd show up on camera also, because no budget for cast."

"Dream Stall" is, in a way, that journey come full circle. Lee conceptualised and directed the film. She wrote the script (although she later brought in a co-writer to split the load).

She stars in it as main character Enya. She even sings on the soundtrack.

Part of it is for budget reasons. "Obviously, I saved a lot of money doing everything myself," she says candidly.

But the biggest difference is that while she's still involved in every part of the product, she's no longer a one-man show.

Against the odds

The idea for "Dream Stall" came a few years ago, when Chen encouraged her to consider making a feature-length film.

"He spoke to me just after I had given birth, so I had a lot of free time during confinement," she quips.

At that point, she'd gone far past the creative limits of an ordinary social media creator. She'd produced her own web series, released songs, even did a live show (Annette Lee: All in One, 2022).

She considered her position. She had a story: a love letter to the Singaporean identity, analogised through a bak kut teh stall. She had the skills, she had a goal.

You know what, she decided. Why not?

When she broke the news to her husband, he was "actually very worried".

"He was like, why do you want to do this? It's such a big risk, a big project. We likely won't make money," she recalls.

"But it was a story that I wanted to tell. I wanted to challenge myself to create something that could last a very long time, because social media is so... like, ephemeral."

Funding a film

And then she had a film to make.

In Singapore, there is a template to success in filmmaking. (Hint, it rhymes with "badvertisements").

But Lee was adamant on not selling to her audiences.

She did take on sponsors, but only those whose presence she felt would be a natural fit in her script.

Like the Singapore Oceanarium, which was the setting for a plot-pivotal date between protagonist Enya and her love interest, Preston.

The rest of the film was funded by a mixture of investors and her own money.

"I just work like dog for the last few years, I tell you," she quips.

"Maybe there are some people who think that I got free money that I just threw in there. But no, I didn't take from my family, I didn't take from anyone."

"I worked for every single cent that I put in. But at the end of the day, it was a passion project — I was like, if I make I make, if I don't I don't.

...This was not a money-making venture. It's just something I felt I had to do."

Dealing with stereotypes

Making a good film was, in a way, just the prologue to the story.

The next chapter was to convince Singaporeans to actually watch it.

The sentiment towards local art, she acknowledges, tends to be "default negative". Coming into the scene as a young, female director, and an influencer no less, meant the barriers were even higher.

On a HardwareZone forum, users criticised her acting, the local film scene, and her social media roots. "Not everyone is Jack Neo," one person commented.

Another said, more succinctly: "Go fly kite lah."

When I ask Lee how she feels about this, she's quick to correct me. "People have been so nice," she insists.

The disillusionment does exist — it's a sentiment that she both empathises with and resents. Some people are just not going to watch her film, some people are not going to take her seriously.

Mindsets don't change overnight. But these are the minority, and she's made her peace with that.

Ultimately, many people have given her, and her art, a chance. For that, she is grateful.

"There could be a bit of misogyny, like [some people who] think I don't know anything, right? But I try not to focus on that.

I think if every day you wake up and you remind yourself that you're a victim, you'll never get anything done."

Work in progress

Lee, somewhat self-deprecatingly, describes herself as a "recovering perfectionist".

She is her own harshest critic, her own creative process. But this means she also knows in her heart that she did her best, without any shortcuts or cheats.

"Boldness thrives in an atmosphere of a clean conscience," she says quite sagely.

Even in the wake of her success, she doesn't have big ambitions of becoming the next Jack Neo, nor of kickstarting a revival in local cinema.

"I'm just a random person," she tells me, at one point in the interview.

It's a statement that comes across as quite astonishing to me: that after subverting every expectation of Singaporean-influencer-turned-filmmaker, she still takes life at her own pace.

Won't be written into a story or a stereotype, even by hopes and adulation.

In the immediate term, Lee plans to take a break from directing, go into acting a little. She has a project or two lined up for now.

But maybe she'll come back to filmmaking, once she has another story to tell.

"I'm not overly trying to plan my course," she explains. "I just wanna see how things go."

It's fully unlike her movie, which ends so neatly with its protagonist's success. This season of Lee's life concludes instead with a pause — on a propitious note, but with a kind of to-be-continued.

As for me, I can't wait to see what comes next.

You can watch Lee's film, "Dream Stall", for free at Nightflix Somerset on Aug. 1. 

Related story

Senior Minister K Shanmugam and Minister for Trade and Industry (Energy and Industry) Tan See Leng have each been awarded S$145,000 in legal costs following their successful defamation suit against Bloomberg and its reporter Low De Wei.

They were previously awarded S$230,000 in damages each after the judge found a Dec. 12 2024 article on Good Class Bungalow (GCB) transactions written by Low for Bloomberg had defamed the ministers.

According to an extract of the notes of the Jul. 30 proceedings, which was shared with the media, each minister was awarded S$50,000 in pre-trial costs, S$65,000 in trial costs and S$30,000 in post-trial costs.

The pre-trial and post-trial costs were awarded for work relating to the preparation of written submissions and a half-day hearing held on May 22.

The trial costs were assessed at S$10,000 per day for the 6.5-day trial.

Defamation suit

The Singaporean ministers sued the news outlet and the reporter over an article it ran on Dec. 12, 2024, titled, "Singapore Mansion Deals Are Increasingly Shrouded in Secrecy".

The article discussed the sale of GCBs in Singapore and claimed there was a lack of public records regarding GCB transactions.

It mentioned private properties purchased by Shanmugam and Tan.

Article found to have defamed ministers

In a judgment released on Jul. 14, Judge Audrey Lim found that the article had indeed defamed the ministers.

She ruled that it linked the duo's property transactions to secrecy, opacity and money laundering, creating a defamatory impression.

“An allegation that a person has deliberately structured his property dealings to escape examination for possible money laundering plainly tends to lower him in the estimation of right-thinking members of society,” she wrote.

Lim also found that the "natural and ordinary meaning" of the article is that the claimants "took advantage of the absence of checks and balances or disclosure requirements to conduct their property transactions in a non-transparent manner" and that they did so to "hide their transactions and avoid scrutiny that might extend to the possibility of money laundering".

"These are grave assertions that directly impugn the claimants’ personal integrity, character and professional reputation. This is therefore a factor that points towards the award of higher damages," Lim said.

Bloomberg, as the publisher, and Low, as the author, were found to be jointly and severally liable for the defamation, meaning they are jointly responsible for paying the full amount owed.

Related

A former captain in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) was jailed for 21 months and two weeks on Jul. 29 after he admitted to vaping and cheating five colleagues of almost S$87,000.

Charge sheets and court documents seen by Mothership stated that Benjamin Song Yong Pang was also fined S$6,000.

He pleaded guilty to nine charges, five of which were cheating charges and four were vape-related charges, which includes possession of vaping devices.

There were 17 charges taken into consideration during sentencing.

Following the commencement of investigations, Song made full restitution to his victims, which include his subordinates.

Lied about mother's medical bills

Between 2011 and 2018, Song incurred significant amounts of credit card debt from patronising clubs and KTVs, though his exact debt amount was not stated in court documents.

At the time of his offences, he was an SAF captain, a deputy cluster commander at a supply base.

Earlier reports mentioned that Song was accused of cheating 16 people more than S$145,000 over three years. He was first charged for cheating in November 2025.

CPIB said that the offences happened over multiple occasions between May 23, 2021 and Mar. 26, 2024.

Charge sheets indicated that the sums given to Song by the victims ranged from S$1,000 to over S$27,000.

Court documents stated that he lied to five colleagues over more than 39 occasions between May 2021 and March 2024 that he would help to invest their money, or claimed that he needed money for his mother's medical bills.

His colleagues gave him a total of S$86,750 on separate occasions, with each being cheated of amounts between S$10,000 and S$27,050.

The five colleagues were cheated in chronological order 13 times, seven times, nine times, five times and fives times respectively.

In reality, Song used the money to service his debts.

Vapes

The Straits Times reported that Song, who began using e-vaporisers some time from late 2021, openly vaped in his Nee Soon Camp office.

In 2022 and 2023, he also had in his possession at the camp, 10 boxes of pods, and 15 pieces of disposable vaporisers at S$13 each over six occasions.

Such conduct resulted a culture of vaping being normalised among his subordinates, investigations revealed.

ST reported that Song leveraged his rank and recruited colleagues to order vapes and vape pods on his behalf.

According to the Health Sciences Authority, Song got three subordinates to procure and pass the vape products to him on multiple occasions.

One subordinate admitted to assisting Song out of fear of saying no to his superior officer.

Song was also found to have introduced a female colleague to vaping by giving her a vaping device and vape pods, ST reported.

Including his vape-related offences, he faced 26 charges in all.

Suspended, penalties

Mindef said in a Nov. 10, 2025 statement that Song was suspended from his duties following his arrest, and was no longer a regular serviceman with the SAF.

Mindef said that SAF holds its service personnel to high standards of discipline and integrity.

"We do not tolerate any form of cheating in the SAF. Service personnel who commit offences will be dealt with in accordance with the law," Mindef said.

Court documents stated that Song was arrested on Apr. 16, 2024, and released on agency bail on the same day.

His agency bail was then extended on Nov. 7, 2025, before his first mention on Nov. 10, 2025.

The prosecution sought a sentence of 21 to 23 months' jail for him.

A 72-year-old man in China almost died after he was apparently bitten by a cobra, whose head he had already cut off five minutes earlier.

The incident occurred in May 2026 and was reported by Global Times, a state-affiliated media outlet.

Fishing

Zhang, an angler, was fishing in a secluded riverside spot and was unaware he had wandered into cobra territory.

He then saw a venomous cobra.

Based on his outdoor experience, Zhang purportedly reasoned that if he retreated, he might be treated as provoking the animal.

He pulled out a digging shovel he carried and struck the cobra as it attacked, flinging it aside.

Zhang then continued to attack the snake and severed the cobra’s head.

Bitten

When Zhang reached down to pick up the cobra’s severed head five minutes after detaching it, it proceeded to bite him.

The detached head reportedly possessed enough muscle memory and survival instinct to sink its venomous fangs deep into Zhang’s hand.

According to Zhang, the bite felt "like an electric shock".

The cobra's head apparently refused to release its grip and continued clinging on to Zhang's hand.

Zhang eventually shook off the cobra’s head and rushed to a local hospital.

Symptoms

Zhang’s wound darkened and swelled.

Within less than 20 minutes, he apparently experienced chest tightness, blurred vision, nausea, and vomiting.

Zhang was then transferred to another hospital in Zhejiang, China, after receiving preliminary emergency treatment.

Upon admission, he reportedly sustained severe swelling that ballooned his entire left arm, stretching from his thumb all the way to his shoulder.

The skin around the wound had also apparently turned black and necrotic, with was warm to the touch.

Zhang also exhibited systemic symptoms triggered by the cobra’s venom.

The doctors performed debridement surgery before the venom could cause irreversible tissue necrosis.

Two months after the treatment, Zhang's left hand was apparently saved.

Postoperative period

During the postoperative period, Zhang reportedly did not dare to move his hand due to the pain and dread.

He also apparently suffered three consecutive nights of nightmares about a headless snake pursuing him relentlessly.

"I will never act recklessly again. The price I paid is far too steep," Zhang reportedly said.

He has since made a full recovery and was discharged from the hospital.

Sheng Siong is ready to review its prices and product range in anticipation of the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link opening in January 2027.

This is to retain shoppers in the face of more competition in the grocery sector.

“The retail grocery industry remains competitive, and with the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link set to open in 2027, we stand ready to adapt our pricing, promotions and product mix as necessary to remain competitive,” Sheng Siong chief executive Lim Hock Chee said on Jul. 29, according to its financial report.

Actual impact uncertain

The RTS Link may intensify price competition for some groceries and household products, Sheng Siong said in its statement.

"However, the actual impact remains uncertain and will depend on factors such as fares, travel time, exchange rates, relative pricing, and consumer behaviour after operations commence," the statement added.

Sheng Siong announced its financial results for the first half of 2026, filed with the local exchange.

Singaporeans are projected to spend S$1.05 billion more in Malaysia once the rail link opens, according to a joint Jul. 16 study by the Singapore Business Federation, the Restaurant Association of Singapore and the Singapore Retailers Association.

A 51 per cent annual increase in Singapore consumers crossing over to Johor Bahru in 2027 was also projected.

Groceries, pharmaceuticals, dining and beauty top the list of categories Singaporeans spend on.

Sheng Siong still expanding

Despite the prospective headwinds, Sheng Siong is still expanding in Singapore.

Three new stores will open in Hougang, Rivervale in Sengkang, and Woodlands between July and September.

The outcome of a tender for another store is pending, while two more tenders are expected to be called over the next six to 12 months.

Sheng Siong also commenced a partnership with foodpanda in June to increase its online market.

Sheng Siong’s S$520 million Sungei Kadut distribution centre broke ground on Jul. 13.

The seven-storey facility is expected to be completed in 2029 and will help see to the optimisation of costs.

Sheng Siong now has a network of 90 stores in Singapore.

Four stores opened in 2026 in Canberra Crescent, New Bridge Centre in Smith Street, Alkaff Crescent, and Sembawang Crescent.

Sheng Siong’s revenue rose 11.9 per cent year on year to S$855.4 million in the first half of 2026.

Its net profit rose by 11.9 per cent over the same period to S$81 million, partly driven by consumer spending supported by CDC vouchers and promotions.