A 45-year-old woman in Vietnam has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering her five-year-old son to claim more than 4.1 billion dong (S$192,550) in life insurance payouts.

According to local news outlet Vietnam News (VNS), To Thị Ty Na staged her son's death as an accidental drowning.

She was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and six years' jail for insurance fraud after being convicted on both charges.

Under Vietnamese law, the combined sentence amounts to life imprisonment.

Boy found dead in a bucket at home

According to the indictment cited by VNS, police received a report on Jan. 3, 2023, that Na's son, who was born in 2017, had been found dead in a bucket in the bathroom of the family's home the previous night.

However, the boy’s paternal aunt, Nguyen Thị Bich Tam, reported her suspicions to the authorities on the same day.

Tam said she had reviewed the home's security camera footage and found that Na had deliberately repositioned one of the cameras before the incident.

She also told investigators that another of Na's children had died after drowning in a bathroom bucket in 2021, after which Na received more than 2 billion dong (S$97,785) in insurance compensation.

The similarities between the two deaths prompted police to open a full investigation.

Investigation contradicts drowning claim

According to VNS, following investigations, it was concluded that only Na and her son had been inside the house.

The house had a single entrance, ruling out the possibility that someone else had been involved.

Forensic evidence also contradicted the claim that the boy had accidentally drowned.

The boy, who was five years and nine months old, was 124cm tall and weighed 23kg.

However, the bucket in which he was found measured 63cm in height and 56cm in width.

There was no evidence to suggest he could have accidentally drowned in the position in which he was found, said prosecutors.

Though the child had no reported injuries before the incident, a post-mortem examination later found multiple bruises on his forehead, groin and leg, suggesting he had struggled against an external force before dying.

The court heard that Na had turned the security camera towards a wall before calling her son into the bathroom, where she forced his head into a bucket until he drowned..

She then staged the scene to resemble an accident before changing her clothes, drying her hands and hair with a hairdryer, opening the front door and pretending to be asleep in bed.

The boy was found dead shortly after 10pm when his older sister returned home.

Had purchased insurance policies for four children

Court documents showed that Na had previously served a 40-month prison sentence for theft before returning home, where she later married and raised four children, VNS reported.

Na later experienced financial difficulties following her husband's death in 2020,

Prosecutors said she had sold the family home for 1.2 billion dong (S$58,681) to cover living expenses, but later exhausted the money.

She subsequently bought seven life insurance policies covering her four children, paying annual premiums of more than 100 million dong (S$4,890), and named herself as the beneficiary of all the policies.

Her youngest son was covered under two separate policies with different insurers.

After his death, Na falsely claimed he had accidentally drowned, allowing her to collect more than 4.1 billion dong (S$192,550) in insurance payouts, which prosecutors said she spent on personal expenses.

During the trial, the boy's teacher also testified that he had been healthy and had shown no signs of injury before his death.

In her final statement to the court, Na denied the charges and asked to be allowed to return to her family.

The court ultimately found that prosecutors had proven beyond reasonable doubt that Na murdered her son to obtain the insurance payouts, and sentenced her to life imprisonment.

In 1917, Lim Ah Choo was born in Hainan, China. Right at the tail end of the first World War.

While World War I mostly passed the island by, that would not be the case for the second one.

Japan invaded Hainan in February 1939.

One night, Lim would find herself trying to avoid Japanese soldiers.

Faced with no other option, she prayed to the departed, pushed aside the heavy lid and hid inside a coffin, making no sound in fear of being found out.

She left a small crack in the lid for her to breathe through till the next morning.

That was life for Lim, who helped with the resistance movement during the war, and was often fleeing from the Japanese.

Those years were unimaginably tough, and Lim understandably did not have too much interest in reliving those memories.

But her defences, which stood strong against years of hardship and war, were no match for the persistence of some very curious grandchildren.

One of her grandchildren, Beverley, shared with Mothership how she and her two siblings used to pester Lim till she dropped them a few crumbs of a story, before putting her foot down and dragging them back to the present.

A disciplined woman

Lim’s post-war years would be eventful.

She would marry, start a family, move to Singapore, and then start a pig farm in the Serangoon area. Lim also raised ducks and chickens to make a living.

Underpinning these significant milestones was a staunch commitment to discipline.

While she loved to eat, she would only eat healthy food (her favourite durians being one of the few indulgences she partook in) and exercised consistently.

Often, she would cycle long distances — to get some water for the farm, and to collect leftovers from around nearby eateries to feed the pigs.

This would continue till the farmland was eventually reclaimed for HDB flats.

Her cycling routine, though, was only beginning.

Lim would cycle consistently from Sembawang to Ang Mo Kio, where she would practise taichi and wushu.

The free time she had from not running a pig farm was spent, among other things, picking up a new sport, badminton.

Starting at the age of 77, the spry newcomer took to the sport like a fish to water, quickly building up over a decade of playing time.

Tests in life

Her efforts helped her kept a lucid mind well into her 100s.

But Father Time is undefeated. Lim's cycling trips were eventually cut down as her family was scared that Lim, who was in her 90s at this point, would get into an accident.

Undaunted, Lim got straight to work on an indoor stationary bike, clocking in the miles while staying at home.

Even as her memory started slipping after she became a centurion, she still remembered her children's names.

Perhaps the greatest test of time through the years, though, came in 1989, when her husband of over 40 years passed away.

The two were very loving and would often go to the cinema together or to the community centre to practice tai chi.

Beverley recalled how, years after his death, Lim would say she could hear her husband "calling" her in the evening.

But she would reply that she couldn't go yet, as she was worried about her children.

The strongest woman

Lim had met her husband before the war started, and had married him after it had ended.

That's over 50 years of knowing and loving a person, which perhaps helped cushion the next 37 years she had to live without him.

It was near the end of all these lives lived that Beverley met her grandmother.

Lim was already over 80 when Beverley was born (Lim had Beverley's mum when she was 45), so she was far mellower than perhaps at any point in her life.

She recalled her grandmother cheerfully yelling "huat ah" when she would wish her happy new year.

But mellowing is a relative term, especially to someone like Lim, who Beverley calls the strongest woman she knew.

Beverley remembered how Lim would scold her and her siblings for eating too much candy, and insist they eat more vegetables instead.

It was a curious refrain considering they didn't have much of a sweet tooth. But year's later, Beverley's mum would finally confess that she had told Lim that the sweets in the house were for the children.

The candy was actually for herself, but better her kids get the lecture than her.

Final days

Her health took a drastic turn for the worse this year.

She fell into a deep sleep in the middle of February, around Feb. 14, not waking up even as the Chinese New Year celebrations were in full swing.

Doctors were pessimistic about her chances on making it through the next few days.

Two days later, she woke up to eat some of her favourite durians.

She would hang on till Feb. 23, where she would pass away at 4:50pm.

By then, she was 109. Her farm's success, her youthful defiance, even her hard-earned health were a distant memory.

But she went surrounded by loved ones. Responding, finally, to her husband's call to come home.

A 36-year-old man was fined S$3,000 for harassing police officers while drunk after he refused to pay for porridge at Orchard Plaza.

Wu Guojie (transliterated) faced one charge under the Protection from Harassment Act and another charge under the Liquor Control (Supply and Consumption) Act.

He pleaded guilty to one of the charges, Shin Min Daily News reported.

The remaining charge was taken into consideration during sentencing.

Porridge

On Dec. 9. 2025, at about 7am, at Orchard Plaza, a female stall holder approached police officers on duty to inform them that the accused had ordered a bowl of porridge at her stall but refused to pay.

Two officers then asked the man to produce identification, but he failed to comply.

One of the officers attempted to reason with him.

However, he was intoxicated at the time of the offence and proceeded to shout and behave rudely.

He reportedly challenged the officers to arrest him, and he was arrested.

Escorted

While being escorted to Woodlands Police Division Headquarters, the accused muttered words and made offensive remarks in the police vehicle.

"You better watch out, my people don't want to see you in public," he reportedly said.

When an officer asked if he was threatening him, the accused immediately hurled vulgarities.

Alcohol

Test results from the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) revealed that the accused's blood sample contained 168 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.

He was apparently going through divorce proceedings, ending an eight-year marriage.

He was also facing financial difficulties.

He claimed that he had turned to alcohol to drown his sorrows and had committed the offence due to excessive drinking.

He pleaded for leniency.

Lim Tean, 61, was arrested by the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) in Johor Bahru on Aug. 6, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said on Aug. 7.

The Singaporean lawyer and politician was supposed to surrender on Aug. 3 to serve jail time for practising law without a valid certificate.

"As Lim Tean has an outstanding court warrant for arrest in Singapore for failing to surrender to court, the SPF is working closely with the RMP to secure his return to Singapore," said SPF in response to media queries.

“The SPF expresses appreciation to the Malaysian authorities for their prompt assistance.”

Arrested at apartment complex

An arrest warrant was issued for Lim in Singapore after he failed to surrender to court to start his jail term of three months and one week for practising law without a valid certificate.

It was previously reported that his lawyer said Lim was uncontactable.

His bailor was also unable to reach Lim.

Shin Min Daily News reported that Lim had gone to Johor Bahru and was arrested at an apartment complex.

Some units in the complex are rented out for short-term vacation stays, it was reported.

The Singapore courts told Mothership previously that Lim was to surrender at 12pm on Jul. 20 to start his jail term.

On Jul. 17, the Court of Appeal approved a request from Lim to defer his sentence.

He was ordered to surrender at 12pm on Aug. 3 instead.

A 23-year-old man, Dean Daniel Ong, was charged on Jul. 31 with allegedly trafficking vaporiser pods containing etomidate.

Acted on a tip-off

In a press release, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) said its officers conducted an enforcement operation at the man's Hougang residence on Jul. 30 after acting on a tip-off.

During the operation, officers seized two vaporisers and 55 vaporiser pods.

Laboratory tests later confirmed that the pods contained etomidate.

Investigations are ongoing.

Case adjourned

According to HSA, the man was remanded for a week to assist with further investigations.

The case was mentioned again in court on Aug. 7 and adjourned to Sep. 18.

HSA said it takes a serious view of vaporiser and etomidate trafficking offences.

Under the Tobacco and Vaporisers Control Act 1993 (TVCA), etomidate and its analogues are classified as Specified Psychoactive Substances (SPS).

Those convicted of importing such substances face between three and 20 years' imprisonment, as well as five to 15 strokes of the cane.

Those convicted of supplying them face between two and 10 years' jail, and between two and five strokes of the cane.

A man was seen on video apparently washing a motorcycle inside a public toilet at Kent Ridge Park.

His antics were slammed online.

The footage showed a white motorcycle parked inside the toilet.

The man in a white top and black pants appeared to spray it with water.

The person filming the video was heard questioning why the motorcycle was brought into the toilet.

The clip also showed a separate scene of what appeared to be a rider wearing a helmet pushing the motorcycle through the park and into the restroom.

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Public reactions

The video drew criticism after it was posted on Instagram account sgfollowsall.backup.

Some pointed out that the toilets are facilities meant for the public to relieve themselves and wash up, not for cleaning vehicles.

Others said the behaviour was not only a misuse of public resources, but could also affect other park users, with the wet floor posing a hazard.

Several suggested the rider should have taken the motorcycle to a car park to wash it instead.

NParks responds

In response to Mothership's queries, Chua Yen Ling, group director of parks at the National Parks Board (NParks), said:

"The National Parks Board is aware of a video circulating online that shows a man washing a motorcycle in a toilet stall at Kent Ridge Park. We are looking into the matter."

A former software engineer at Meta left his five-figure salary to sell hokkien mee, a fried prawn noodle dish, at a coffee shop in Geylang.

Alvin Tan, who now earns about a third of what he used to, shared his journey in a CNA Insider video on Aug. 5, 2026.

Concerns over getting retrenched

Tan said he began questioning his future in the tech industry as the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) increased the risk of retrenchment.

His previous company had laid off about 10 per cent of its workforce, which made him realise he could just as easily have been part of that 10 per cent.

Rather than wait to lose his job, Tan decided to leave on his own terms.

"If I were to be kicked out by someone, how about I just be kicked out by myself?" he said. "I'd rather be held accountable to my own actions instead of something that is out of my control."

How his journey began

Instead of opening a stall immediately, Tan said he first tested whether people would pay for his hokkien mee.

He started by cooking from home and giving away free plates of the fried prawn noodles, before selling at food events and eventually opening his own stall.

Tan said he believed the skills he developed as a software engineer were also transferable to his new business.

He likened building the business gradually to developing software, starting with a simple product, before refining and expanding it through successive iterations.

Takes home about a third of his previous salary

Tan's hokkien mee is priced between S$6 and S$8 a plate, and the stall generates up to S$19,000 in monthly revenue.

However, nearly half of that goes towards ingredients, with rent, utilities, and manpower further eating into his earnings.

In the end, Tan said he takes home only about 20 per cent of the stall's revenue, or around S$3,000 to S$4,000 a month.

Tan says he needs to sell about 45 plates a day to break even, with every plate sold after that contributing to his income.

For months after opening, however, he sold fewer than half the number of plates needed to cover his costs.

"There were also days that I threw away a lot of my ingredients, which felt very sad," he recalled.

"But once get through that phase, you get more regulars, you get more people knowing your stall, I think that's where the magic starts," he said.

Grappling with costs

Tan said one of the mistakes he made when he started the business was focusing on perfecting his recipe without paying enough attention to costs.

Initially, he said, he did not know how to factor the cost of goods sold into his pricing.

"The first thing (to do) when you start a business is always to protect yourself. Don't just go in and spend your life savings..."

"Try to start something small, and gain traction from there," he said.

For Tan, even after reaching the break-even point, rising costs have continued to squeeze his margins.

With the prices of gas and ingredients increasing, Tan said he has been absorbing the additional costs himself, though he may eventually have to raise prices if his earnings continue to decline.

He also hopes to eventually hire someone he can trust to help grow the business further.

"I can't do this alone. I will definitely need someone that I can trust to walk this journey with me as well, not just as a worker, but someone who can see this as something that can be pushed further in the future."

However, he acknowledged that hiring additional staff would also mean taking home less income in the short term.

While he can afford to hire a part-timer, he said bringing on a full-time employee is not yet financially viable.

Running a business has also changed the way he approaches his finances.

Tan said he is not making CPF contributions at the moment, but intends to do so in the future while saving for his Build-to-Order flat.

He added that whether leaving a salaried job makes financial sense depends on an individual's circumstances.

"I don't have many wants. I just need to be able to afford my meals, public transport, and of course next year will be my BTO. And afford to maybe travel once a year," he said.

Tan added that not planning to have children gives him greater financial flexibility.

"Fulfilling and satisfying"

Since starting his business, Tan said he has had less time for family, friends, hobbies and even sleep.

Still, he views these not as sacrifices, but as opportunity costs.

Although he is earning less, working longer hours and taking on greater financial risk a year into the business, Tan believes the journey will pay off in the long run.

"I think the ceiling is much higher. I guess owning your own stuff is different from working for someone. You won't get retrenched. You will only suffer a more miserable fate," he quipped.

"But you get to be in control and you get to learn and own up to your own mistakes and make changes."

"That freedom actually can be quite fulfilling and satisfying, when you finally make it after so many hours of hard work," he said. "That is magical."

Tan's stall, Umami, is located at 709 Geylang Rd, Singapore 389624.

UPDATE on Aug. 7 at 1:30pm: This article has been updated with new information as it is a developing story.

Seven people have died after a school shooting near Bangkok, Thailand on Aug. 7.

The deceased are reportedly three teachers, three students and the shooter, who was said to be a student, according to local media.

The gunman reportedly killed himself.

Local authorities also confirmed at least 15 were injured, with two seriously injured.

Students, teachers and staff have been evacuated from the area.

Shooting

The shooting occurred in Debsirin Nonthaburi School, a well-known secondary school in the Bang Kruai district of Nonthaburi province.

According to BBC Thailand, the suspected shooter was a 14-year-old male student in the ninth grade.

Students reportedly said they initially thought the sound of gunshots were firecrackers going off, or someone banging something.

Many were seen fleeing from the shooting site and escaping across an overhead bridge.

The area has been cordoned off in the meantime.

Prime Minister sends condolences

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has sent his condolences to the victims of the shooting.

"This is really bad, it shouldn't have happened. I don't just feel sorry for the victims but I feel sorry that this happened," he said in an interview following the incident.

"This is why the government do not allow [citizens] to posses firearms."

In a written reply to a Parliamentary question on Aug. 4, Senior Minister K Shanmugam responded to Workers' Party MP Jamus Lim's question regarding data on the average sentencing outcomes for drink-driving cases over the past three years.

In his question, Lim asked what the average durations of driving bans, fines, and incarceration were in cases of drink-driving in Singapore.

According to SM Shanmugam, who is also the Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs, a total of 5,176 people were arrested for drink-driving between 2023 and 2025.

Of these, 3,283 cases resulted in disqualification from driving.

40 cases resulted in lifetime disqualification, while the remaining 3,243 offenders received an average driving ban of 38 months.

Meanwhile, fines were imposed in 3,020 cases, with an average amount of about S$5,200.

Imprisonment was imposed in 647 cases, with an average sentence of 45 days.

SM Shanmugam also noted that arrest and sentencing statistics for a given year are not directly comparable.

This is because people arrested in a particular year may only be charged and/or sentenced in a later year following investigations and court proceedings.

Road Traffic Act 1961

A drink-driving offence refers to an offence under Section 67(1)(b) of the Road Traffic Act 1961, which states that a person commits an offence if they drive or attempt to drive a motor vehicle on a road or other public place with the proportion of alcohol in their breath or blood exceeding the prescribed limit.

Under the Road Traffic Act 1961, a first-time offender is liable, upon conviction, to a fine of not less than S$2,000 and not more than S$10,000, imprisonment for up to 12 months, or both.

A repeat offender is liable to a fine of not less than S$5,000 and not more than S$20,000, and an imprisonment not exceeding two years.

A man was fined S$8,000 for illegally disposing of about 1,530kg of household and renovation waste in Tampines.

The disposal occurred at Tampines Road Heavy Vehicle Park on May 13, 2025.

Shkder Foridul pleaded guilty to one charge under the Environmental Public Health Act 1987 (EPHA) and was fined.

The case was heard on Aug. 4.

Pile of waste

On May 14, National Environment Agency (NEA) officers discovered a pile of waste comprising household items and renovation waste that had been dumped on the grass verge at Tampines Road Heavy Vehicle Park during routine checks.

Investigations revealed that Foridul undertook hacking and dismantling jobs for two residential premises at Whampoa Drive and Farrer Road, respectively.

Instead of disposing of the waste properly at a licensed general waste disposal facility, Foridul dumped it illegally out of convenience.

Offence

NEA said illegal disposal of waste is a serious offence as it pollutes the environment and poses a hazard to public health, and will not hesitate to take strict enforcement action against any person who disposes of waste illegally.

First-time offenders are liable to a fine of up to S$50,000, a jail term of up to 12 months, or both.

Repeat offenders are liable to a maximum fine of S$100,000 and a jail term of one to 12 months.

Members of the public can assist NEA by submitting reports of suspected illegal disposal electronically via the Online Feedback Form or myENV mobile application.

When reporting, members of the public are advised to provide the date, time, and location of the incident, the registration number of the vehicle used to carry out the illegal disposal, as well as any supporting photos and video clips.