An Indonesian businessman is assisting with investigations in Singapore after he allegedly used 34 counterfeit S$10,000 notes at the Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) casino in June 2026, The Straits Times reported.

News of the incident has been picked up by Malaysian media and gaming trade publications.

The businessman was identified only as Steven.

Counterfeit notes allegedly used successfully

A bulk of the notes were reportedly accepted, deposited in the casino account, and even exchanged for casino chips before they were detected as counterfeit, ST reported.

Steven had made three visits to the casino in total.

An account of what allegedly happened was recounted by Steven's Jakarta-based lawyer to ST.

The lawyer's position was that his client had used the counterfeit banknotes unknowingly and is a victim of fraud.

Steven claimed that the notes were payment he received for a shophouse he was selling in South Tangerang, a satellite town to Jakarta.

The lawyer said a police report has been filed with the South Tangerang police in Indonesia.

What Steven claimed happened

Steven claimed he had been introduced to a man, Anthony, through a friend.

The friend was identified only as Rangga.

Jun. 8

Anthony gave Steven a S$10,000 note at a cafe in Jakarta and claimed that he wanted to exchange the note as it was old.

Rangga reassured Steven that the note was found to be genuine at an OCBC branch in Indonesia

Jun. 9

Steven flew to Singapore on Jun. 9.

A money changer declined the note as the denomination was too large.

A VIP host Steven was introduced to at RWS suggested exchanging the note at the casino.

This was after Steven did not want to open a bank account just for the purpose of exchanging currency.

The note was allegedly verified and exchanged for casino chips.

Jun. 11

Steven returned to Jakarta and met with Anthony on Jun. 11.

Anthony handed Steven 33 S$10,000 notes.

He claimed it was inheritance money and said he wanted smaller denominations.

Anthony also told Steven that he wanted to buy a shophouse that Steven was selling for 4.5 billion rupiah (S$322,000).

But Anthony would only pay Steven when he returned to Jakarta with smaller denominations of the Singapore currency.

Jun. 12

Steven travelled to Singapore on Jun. 12 and deposited 27 of the 33 notes into his casino account.

Six other notes remained at his home in Indonesia.

Jun. 22

Steven used the six notes he kept in Jakarta as payment towards a house in Pamulang, Banteng province.

But the seller's daughter could not get the notes exchanged in Jakarta.

Jun. 26

Steven flew to Singapore with his wife, children, and the seller’s daughter with the intention of exchanging the S$10,000 notes for smaller denominations at the casino.

He took part in a baccarat tournament at RWS that afternoon and was stopped by casino security and police.

The serial numbers on some of the six notes matched some of the 28 notes from his two earlier trips, he was told.

Steven is to remain in Singapore for up to six months as investigations are pending.

He faced the prospect of being investigated for not declaring the large sum of cash he had and for putting counterfeit money into circulation.

Victim of fraud?

The lawyer said Steven is a victim of fraud.

When Steven previously asked Anthony to travel to Singapore together to collect the money, Anthony apparently declined and claimed that he did not have a passport and had business to attend to in Indonesia.

No more S$10,000 issued

The S$10,000 banknote was first issued in 1973 and discontinued in 2014.

The S$1,000 note has not been issued since 2021.

In a statement in 2020, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said the discontinuation of the notes was to mitigate money laundering and terrorism financing risks.

A 75-year-old man who ran Tong Sheng Impex, a storage rack company, attempted to take down his competitors' posters and make his own harder to remove.

In doing so, he damaged the walls and public spaces of several Housing Development Board (HDB) flats.

Lee Kai Soon, the sole proprietor of Tong Sheng Impex, pleaded guilty to three charges of mischief with another two charges taken into consideration, CNA reported.

He was sentenced to 10 days' imprisonment on Sep. 22.

Spray-painted

Lee, occasionally accompanied by his wife, attempted to advertise his services around new built-to-order flats.

According to court documents seen by Mothership, Lee went to a block of HDB flats at Ang Mo Kio on Jun. 29, 2025 to put up posters for his company.

At the lift lobby, he noticed six posters from a rival company pinned on the notice board.

He attempted to take them down, but the notice board was enclosed by a locked glass case.

He then went to his vehicle to take a can of black spray paint and sprayed it over the notice board.

That same night, a 36-year-old resident spotted the notice board covered in paint, and discovered from other residents that a similar incident had happened at an adjacent block.

Subsequently, the resident made a police report.

Lee's actions were captured by CCTV footage. The police eventually informed Lee that the matter was being investigated, although he was not confirmed as a suspect at the time.

Afterwards, Lee went back to the notice board and attempted to clean the paint off, but did not succeed in doing so fully.

Scratching posters

Although he was aware of the investigation, Lee continued his acts.

On Aug. 27, 2025, Lee went to a HDB estate in Toa Payoh with his wife.

They entered the lifts and tore posters from their competitors off the walls, before putting up their own.

At the time, the lifts were covered with acrylic boards to protect the walls while residents moved into their flats.

Lee then used a penknife to cut the posters in order to make it more difficult for others to remove them, as the posters would come off in bits and pieces.

As a result, the underlying acrylic boards were also cut.

These actions were again captured by the CCTV.

Lee, acting alone, subsequently also did the same for the walls and riser doors of the lift lobbies at the same block.

Arrested

Lee was arrested on Jan. 26, 2026.

According to CNA, the prosecutor sought a short jail term, and read out a list of Lee's past convictions.

The list included more than 10 different incidents, involving driving with an expired license, using abusive language, cheating and voluntarily causing hurt, all carried out from the 1970s to the 2000s.

The defendant's lawyer asked the court to consider five days' jail, citing his client's poor health.

CNA also reported that Lee was charged along two other men, whose cases are pending. 

The penalty for mischief is a maximum of two years' jail, a fine, or both.

"In Singapore, we can never wish away our geography, nor can we opt out of geopolitics."

Chan Chun Sing remarked on Sep. 22, while delivering a speech marking the 30th anniversary of the Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS).

During the speech, he reminded the audience of the shifting nature of geopolitics and the need for a corresponding evolving reaction to it, as well as the constant need to better understand the world “more deeply than others would expect a small state to.”

“More importantly, to use that understanding to stay relevant, to stay connected, and to stay ahead.”

Our own eyes

Chan began by retelling the story of SR Nathan and RSIS's predecessor, the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS).

The then Defence Minister Tony Tan tasked the future president SR Nathan to build the institute, and Chan recalled Nathan as being a man of “extraordinary instinct.”

Nathan understood before others that Singapore could not afford to be surprised, and that “we needed our own eyes, our own analysis, and, most importantly, our own voice,” and that same spirit was needed now more urgently than ever.

Chan said that the 30 years encapsulating RSIS's foundation was not just a milestone, but an entire strategic era.

In the intervening 30 years, the world had changed significantly, with U.S. primacy giving way to sustained great power competition, cyberspace erasing the protection of physical distance.

Relationships with Singapore's closest neighbours, Malaysia and Indonesia, are being reshaped by forces that are “shifting fast within their respective societies.”

Singapore could neither “wish away our geography” nor “opt out of geopolitics”, and needed to “understand the world more deeply than others would expect a small state to do”, using that to “stay relevant, stay connected, and stay ahead.”

Not more of the same

RSIS’s task on its 30th anniversary was to not “just do more of the same”; it needed to constantly reinvent itself ahead of the times to stay relevant.

He stressed the importance of RSIS’s mission, stressing the importance of the “deep connections and understandings of the personalities, institutions, and deep forces shaping the world” that the school had assiduously built up.

Chan said that the shifts the world was going through were not just structural but also personal.

Decisions that shaped our region were being made by specific leaders with specific worldviews, insecurities, and ambitions.

Using China as an example, he said: “Understanding geopolitics today means understanding the Chinese conception of national rejuvenation and what that means for how China exercises power in the region and beyond.”

Personalities and institutional pressures

But there was a similar need to understand the personalities, institutional pressures, and domestic politics that affected other countries, such as the United States, Malaysia, and Indonesia, to give a few examples.

This kind of deep, granular human understanding could not be assembled overnight, but required “persistent research, language skills, long-cultivated relationships, and genuine intellectual immersion in other societies", Chan said.

But RSIS’s role went beyond understanding the great powers but also understanding Singapore’s closest neighbours, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Neither relationship could be managed on autopilot and required the same depth of understanding of history, political culture, and deep forces shaping the societies from within.

Chan said he shared Nathan's vision for RSIS that it should be the go-to place for everyone within the region and beyond who wanted to understand the deep dynamics of Southeast Asia.

Technological grey zones

But beyond geopolitics, technology was also in the process of redrawing the boundaries of what is possible in security and warfare.

Chan gave the example of AI, autonomous systems, and drones that have changed how conflicts are being fought and how power is projected.

The availability of such technologies, not just at the state level but also for non-state actors, gives them capabilities that once required enormous resources.

Conflicts no longer begin when shots are fired, but long before, in the information environment and cyberspace.

"This is why we say that today we are never living in peace nor war in the conventional sense, but always somewhere in between, always in a grey zone where we must conduct operations every day to protect ourselves from conflict, even as contestation continues."

Capabilities and intentions

Chan said that, in the end, it was about sound judgement about the capabilities and intentions of others.

Capabilities were easier to assess, but intentions were hard, and where RSIS “earns its keep.”

Comparing the situation to chess, which he said was a game of perfect information, but ultimately came down to the intentions and imagination behind the moves.

“It is not the information itself, but what we do with it.”

It was the ability to distinguish signal from noise and the wisdom to know when to act and when to hold back.

Chan said that the hardest questions were deciding when to make a move and when to hold back.

Both, he said, required strategic patience and strategic understanding, and not acting in haste required confidence in one's own capabilities.

“Poor understanding of the other side, and poor understanding of ourselves, increases the risk of miscalculation” He said, and miscalculation would have unwanted consequences.

Intensified imperative

RSIS's imperative has not diminished over the past 30 years, but instead has intensified.

Chan said that Nathan had built the IDSS because he believed Singapore deserved its own strategic voice, a belief that was now more important than ever as the world continued to evolve.

“Our task is to see it clearly, understand it deeply, and help Singapore navigate it wisely, ahead of time.”

Former Workers’ Party (WP) Member of Parliament (MP) Faisal Manap is now a property agent with ERA Real Estate Singapore.

ERA

In a Facebook post on Sep. 21, Faisal was among four men posing in front of an ERA sign.

“Let's welcome Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap as our latest Associate in #NND #ERASynchroNiceDivision to join ERA,” the caption read.

Checks on ERA’s website revealed that the 51-year-old was working with the company as an associate.

He was apparently registered as a real estate agent on Sep. 16.

Faisal continues to serve as WP’s vice-chairperson.

Training

According to Berita Harian, Faisal is currently under mentorship and gaining experience through on-the-job training.

His new role reportedly offers him flexibility in terms of working hours.

“I have worked in the service sector for nearly 20 years, including as a counsellor and as an MP for 14 years. As such, serving the community has become an integral part of who I am. Therefore, at this juncture, I want to try my hand at the real estate industry,” Faisal told Berita Harian.

Prior to politics, Faisal reportedly worked as a Housing and Development Board (HDB) technical officer from 1998 to 2002.

““This marks a new phase in my life. Just as I did when I was an MP, I always believe in myself and do the best I can within my capabilities. I take a step-by-step approach. In any endeavour, we naturally aim for the best possible outcome,” he reportedly said.

A Sengkang resident was shocked after seeing a group of people selling raw meat at the void deck of Block 107 Rivervale Walk.

The resident, who gave his name as Jamiro, told Mothership that he noticed the group about three times, most recently on Aug. 29.

Videos he took show a group of people gathered around a void deck table as a man chopped meat with a cleaver.

A weighing scale was also displayed.

Concerned

Jamiro said he was worried about food safety, as well as the safety of residents, as the cleaver was used in the open.

He also noted the presence of children, due to a nearby playground.

The resident then went up to the group to question them but was apparently met with no explanation as the group appeared to only speak Mandarin.

In another video, another man, who appeared to be a passer-by, explained to Jamiro that one of the group members had purchased the meat wholesale and was splitting up the meat to resell.

Videos Jamiro took show huge cuts of meat on cardboard around the void deck, with about 12 people gathered around the table.

Jamiro added that he called the police, but was advised to report to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) instead.

Investigation ongoing

In response to Mothership's queries, SFA said officers conducted checks on several occasions for illegal hawking activities at Block 107 Rivervale Walk following feedback.

No sale of food activities was observed during these checks, SFA said.

SFA said it is conducting further investigations and will continue to monitor the situation.

"We will not hesitate to take enforcement action where necessary," the agency said.

Under the Environmental Public Health Act, the hawking of food products in public spaces without a valid licence issued by SFA is not permitted.

SFA added:

"Unregulated street food hawking causes disamenities and poses a risk to public health. Unregulated street hawkers are transitory and cannot be traced if buyers face problems with their purchases. Food sold via illegal hawking may be unsafe, as such food items may not meet SFA’s food safety requirements. Through such modes of sales, these illegal street hawkers are in effect passing risks to the unsuspecting consumer to bear."

Members of the public who come across any suspected illegal hawking of goods and/or food are advised not to patronise them.

They are also advised to make a report via SFA's online feedback form with details for SFA’s follow-up investigations.

Singaporean mixed martial arts (MMA) athlete Tiffany Teo has clinched the gold medal at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya in the traditional 60kg category.

On her Asian Games debut, the 36-year-old competed in the final on Sep. 22 and defeated Uzbekistan's Khilola Sobirova.

This marks Singapore’s first medal at the Games.

First round

In traditional MMA, each round lasts five minutes,

In the first round, both fighters opened aggressively about 15 seconds in and traded punches and kicks.

Teo maintained her position in the middle of the ring, while Sobirova circled around it.

At one point, Teo was seen gesturing towards Sobirova to come to the centre of the ring, a reference to UFC fighter Max Holloway’s iconic gesture, which was noted by the commentator.

This prompted the Uzbek to feint an attack before retreating to the ring's perimeter.

In the last 30 seconds of the first round, Teo went for a takedown, and both fighters fought for control.

Second round

In the second round, Teo continued to maintain pressure on Sobirova.

The Uzbek continued to “work from the outside”.

The commentators also noted that the Uzbek smiled a lot.

The Singaporean then went for a second takedown and pushed Sobirova out of the ring.

About four minutes and 32 seconds into the second round, Sobirova took Teo down and gained control of her, leading to a submission that paused the round.

Singapore appealed against it as there were “awkward positions” from Sobirova that led to "strikes to the back of the head", which is a foul in combat sports.

The officials allowed the round to resume, and both fighters became more assertive in trading strikes.

At one point, Teo landed a clean punch on the Uzbek’s torso.

“She (Soriova) might be smiling, but that one tagged her,” a commentator remarked.

As the round neared its end, both sides’ coaches cheered for their fighters.

Both fighters were bloodied and bruised.

Overtime

Both fighters won one round each, which led to a one-minute overtime.

In overtime, Teo tackled Sobirova to the ground in the first 10 seconds and maintained control over the Uzbek throughout.

“She (Teo) is exactly where she wants to be,” the commentators said.

Victory

Teo subsequently was declared the winner.

“That is the culmination of years and years and years for Tiffany Teo, that has got to be the crowning jewel for what is essentially Southeast Asian MMA royalty,” the commentators said.

She broke into tears in front of her husband and coach, Sim Kai Xiong.

Sim carried his wife on his shoulders and ran around the ring as Teo held the Singapore flag.

Teo's victory avenged the loss to the Uzbek in the final of the 2026 Asian Mixed Martial Arts Championships in May 2026.

According to the Major Games Award Programme (MAP) incentive scheme payout to reward medal winners, Teo is entitled to S$200,000.

In the aftermath of the Megan Khung case, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) has set up a new unit that helps child protection officers act earlier.

The four-year-old Singaporean girl died in 2020 after more than a year of abuse at the hands of her mother and her boyfriend.

A subsequent review found instances of "lack of clear communication" among agencies, and two breaches of protocol by police officers involved in the case.

Megan's case would have been flagged 3 times

The new unit, SAFER (Sensemaking Alerts for Frontline Engagement and Response), is part of MSF's efforts to strengthen the child protection ecosystem in Singapore following the case.

It applies to children under seven years old where there are child protection concerns.

Launched in June 2026, the unit comes on the back of recommendations by a review panel, and provides frontline professionals with more information to allow them to better assess whether to render support earlier.

Had SAFER been implemented, Megan's case would have been flagged for review at least three times, up to five months before her death, MSF said.

These instances would have been:

• Between Mar. 19 and Apr. 9, 2019, upon the sighting of Megan's injuries and the preschool's report to the National Anti-Violence and Sexual Harassment Helpline (NAVH)
• Between Sep. 5 and Sep. 17, 2019, when Megan stopped attending preschool and was subsequently withdrawn
• In January 2020, when Megan's grandmother made a police report

So how does it work?

Speaking to the media about the new unit, Senior Minister of State for Social and Family Development Mr Goh Pei Ming said SAFER comprises professionals who have child protection experience.

These professionals will assess relevant information from different agencies, including arrest records for drug offences, sexual offences, police reports, preschool attendance, and household information.

They can then flag potential child safety concerns to MSF's protective service (PSV) or relevant agencies' case managers, who can in turn quickly follow up with the child if needed.

Upon receiving an alert from SAFER, MSF can conduct risk-screening and information gathering within a target of three working days.

If there are concerns, the case will be escalated for triage. Actions include increasing support if risks have become more serious, or reviewing safety plans regarding new family developments.

In the event of immediate safety concerns, the Domestic Violence Emergency Response Team will be deployed promptly to provide support on-site, MSF said.

"Every case of child abuse is one case too many," Goh said.

"The sooner concerns are identified and acted on, the better the chances of keeping our children safe and supporting our families."

SAFER allowed for faster intervention in 70 cases

According to MSF, child protection faces two key gaps presently.

Firstly, risks are only detected after harm occurs; and secondly, escalating risks for known cases may not be identified in time due to fragmented information.

SAFER fills these gaps by flagging potentially destabilising forces in a household so that preventive action can be taken.

For example, if a police report was made about a child getting hurt.

In the first two months of operations, SAFER allowed MSF and its partners to intervene more promptly in 70 cases.

The system discovered one case that was referred for early support, escalated another for statutory intervention, and identified 68 cases that needed a review of safety plans and the strengthening of existing support.

Follows MSF's steps to strengthen child protection ecosystem

SAFER's implementation follows MSF's commitment in parliament in November 2025 to set up a social services coordination centre.

According to the media release, this is part of follow-up actions taken to strengthen the child protection ecosystem following recommendations from a review panel appointed by MSF in May 2025.

As previously reported, the sentencing for Megan's case took place on Apr. 3, 2025.

MSF has largely implemented the review panel's recommendations, including the designation of Child Protection Case Management agencies, the launch of the Protection Practitioners Care Fund, and the establishment of the Triage Assessment Panel.

The remaining measures will be fully implemented in 2027.

MSF further noted that the public has a part to play in looking out for children and families who may be struggling.

Members of the public can report suspected abuse through the National Anti-Violence and Sexual Harassment Helpline at 1800-777-0000.

Celebrity couple Hong Ling and Nick Teo are pregnant with their first child.

The pair took to Instagram on Sep. 22 to share the happy news with a heartfelt video.

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Hong Ling (@honglingg_)

New addition to family

Hong and Teo started the video by introducing the members of their family.

After introducing the three kitties, they brought up their latest addition, with Hong holding up some ultrasound images.

The video then showed the exact moment when they found out the good news.

The couple had taken the pregnancy test in an airport toilet a few months ago.

The couple shared a tight embrace after the test revealed Hong was pregnant.

Teo said that he had been terrified, and later teared up in joy.

The pair, who had married in 2023, had experienced a miscarriage in May 2025.

“Our family is finally growing by one little member,” the couple wrote in the caption.

“A gift from God, more beautiful than we could have imagined. Baby Teo coming soon.”

A pregnant woman in Singapore who was allegedly forced to resign while on maternity leave has won her case, with the magistrate finding it to be a case of wrongful dismissal.

Her boss had suggested that her position be terminated after her pregnancy, explaining that she "did not fit into his vision" for the new team.

This was despite her having received positive feedback for her performance prior to going on maternity leave, according to the September 2026 judgment.

The woman, C, was awarded S$19,800 in compensation by the Employment Claims Tribunal (ECT).

This consisted of three months' wages and another three months' pay for harm caused, the maximum award for the ECT's jurisdictional limit.

Told director she was expecting

C joined the company as an executive on Apr. 21, 2021. She was drawing a monthly salary of S$3,300 when her employment ended.

In March 2023, her unit came under a new director, EC.

A month after EC joined the team, she had a one-on-one lunch with EC, during which she told him that she was pregnant with her baby due in October.

During the lunch, she told EC she was considering whether to take a few months of sabbatical leave to care for her newborn.

She did so in accordance with the company's HR handbook, the court heard.

Performance described as 'excellent'

On Jul. 19, 2023, C was commended for her work ethic during her performance appraisal meeting with her immediate supervisor, JY; her new director, EC; and the previous director, JC.

JY described her performance and work ethic as "excellent". EC concurred that her performance was good and she had demonstrated a "strong work ethic".

On Sep. 12, 2023, C submitted her maternity leave form.

She left the date fields left blank, as her child's birthdate was not known.

She also informed HR that she was still thinking about whether to apply for sabbatical leave.

Told that new boss wasn't keen on having her back

On Sep. 13, 2023, the day after submitting the form, C was hospitalised due to pregnancy-related complications.

At the time, C was 36 weeks pregnant and in her final trimester.

She informed HR that she would be going on hospitalisation leave due to complications.

On Sep. 18, 2023, her direct superior, JY, messaged her saying that EC "[wasn't] keen on having [her] back".

JY testified that she had sent the message because she had gotten the impression from EC that C "would be told to go" upon her return from maternity leave.

EC texts her repeatedly asking for a call

On Oct. 2, 2023, C got a WhatsApp message from EC in which he asked for a call "regarding the plans after".

She asked what it would be about as she wished to focus on her pregnancy and not think about her work. He repeated his earlier message.

The next day, EC sent another message saying the "quick chat" would not take longer than 10 minutes.

C eventually agreed.

They spoke the following morning, and the call was recorded by C's husband.

According to C, she was essentially told:

• She did not fit into EC's new vision for his team,
• Her employment would be terminated immediately after her maternity leave,
• She would have to undergo an interview and be re-assessed by EC as to her suitability to rejoin the team if she wished to return to work.

Prior to the call, C had decided not to take sabbatical leave after all, and planned to return to work right after her maternity leave ended.

EC was also already aware of this fact, as it was brought up during the phone call, the court heard.

Asked to go back to office

Subsequently, C was also asked by HR to attend the office for a meeting.

But she declined, stating that she wished to focus on her health and pregnancy at the time.

She also pointed out that she was on hospitalisation leave at the time.

"If [EC] does choose to terminate [me] after [my] leave ends, then [I] would like it in black and white as I would like to start looking for a job as soon as [I am] able to," she added.

HR did not reply.

C remained on hospitalisation leave until Oct. 11, 2023, when she gave birth to her firstborn.

Her maternity leave commenced on the same day and was scheduled to end on Jan. 25, 2024.

A day later, C re-submitted her maternity form with the date fields completed and informed HR by email that she would be commencing her maternity leave.

Resigned

On Dec. 21, 2023, C resigned with one-month's notice.

She subsequently brought a claim to the ECT, seeking compensation for her dismissal, which she alleged was on account of her pregnancy.

In its stated reasons for the dismissal, the company argued that EC had simply been seeking to clarify C's plans after her maternity leave, based on C's earlier expression of interest in taking sabbatical leave.

The company contended that the call was made in good faith, and that EC had merely suggested that "it would be cleaner to terminate the employment after maternity".

But Tribunal Magistrate Lee Li Choon said that as C had not submitted any formal application or indication for sabbatical or no-pay leave, the company had no reason to make the unsolicited phone call through EC.

The magistrate added that the company's "communication effectively conveyed to her that she was not worthy of continued employment simply because she was giving birth and going on maternity leave".

"Degrading and deeply insensitive"

Based on the facts, the magistrate concluded that the company had the intention of terminating C's employment when EC spoke to JY on Sep. 18, 2023, the same day the heads-up text was sent.

Lee said she was satisfied that C showed she did not resign voluntarily, but was compelled to do so by the company's communications through EC.

Regarding the aggravating factors, Lee noted that C was informed of her impending termination "in a manner that was both degrading and deeply insensitive".

"This would have caused her tremendous anxiety about her financial situation and job security during an exceptionally vulnerable period in her life."

The magistrate added that the case sheds light "on the kind of adverse workplace culture that working women who choose to have children may encounter from certain employers".

Under Singapore's Employment Act 1968, a dismissal includes an employee's resignation if the employee can show that the resignation was not voluntary but compelled by the employer's conduct or omission.

Xi Jinping will be visiting the United States from Sep. 23 to 25, making a reciprocal visit after U.S. President Donald Trump's trip to Beijing earlier in 2026.

What's on the agenda, and what does this say about the state of the U.S.-China relationship?

The itinerary

Xi’s visit to the U.S. is the first since 2023 and is his first state visit since 2015.

This visit appears to be tightly focused on discussions between the two presidents, with the itinerary providing very little time for other events.

During his 2023 visit, Xi and Biden found time to compare cars; during his 2015 state visit, Xi kicked it off by visiting the West Coast of the U.S. first.

But for the upcoming visit, Xi will be flying directly to Washington, D.C., where it is expected that Trump will meet him on the tarmac.

The optics of this decision, should it come to pass, are odd; U.S. presidents rarely meet foreign visitors as they get off the plane.

When Trump visited Beijing in May 2026, he was greeted by China’s vice president Han Zheng, a former member of the Politburo Standing Committee, not to mention a legion of flag-waving children, honour guard, and other dignitaries.

Breaking protocol

The Independent notes that Trump will be present at Andrews Air Force Base on Sep. 23 to meet Xi, a "rare departure from protocol".

Xi will also enjoy a U.S. honour guard.

This also means that Xi will be eschewing other events on his visit, and it was earlier confirmed that he would not be addressing the United Nations General Assembly, despite the timing of his visit seeming to coincide with the gathering.

Xi will also be bringing along a large delegation of Chinese business leaders, including executives from car maker BYD and Xiaomi.

This more closely mirrors Trump's May visit, when he was joined on this trip by high-powered tech executives, including Nvidia's Jensen Huang, Elon Musk, and then Apple CEO Tim Cook.

A state dinner is slated to be held in honour of Xi’s visit, and like in Beijing, the invite list consists of the U.S.’s top executives, such as JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon and OpenAI’s Sam Altman.

What’s on the agenda?

The visit's agenda will largely be a continuation of previous discussions, with trade and artificial intelligence likely to be the most critical topics.

Trade

A report by the World Economic Forum notes that the temporary, year-long tariff truce negotiated in Busan in 2025 will expire in November, but neither side is eager to return to tariff escalation and trade war.

Over the weekend, China’s vice premier He Lifeng met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in New York, a critical pre-visit discussion.

Xinhua describes the talks as “candid, in-depth, and constructive”, and that they “engaged in exchanges on important economic and trade issues of common concern”, and the “Implementation of consensus reached in previous talks.”

Xinhua was referring to the Board of Trade mechanism first discussed in May talks, which the BBC said was a plan to “operationalise” a process to identify potential goods for which already existing tariffs could be cut.

The AFP, via Yahoo Finance, reports that in the U.S. the current effective tariff rate on goods coming from China is about 22.8 per cent.

On some items, such as steel and aluminium, the rate is as high as 40.5 per cent, the highest rate currently charged.

Prior to the Busan “truce”, the U.S. was threatening to levy rates as high as 145 per cent, with China threatening to match them with 125 per cent reciprocal rates.

AI

The other major agenda item is Artificial Intelligence.

The Financial Times reports that both countries agreed to set up an AI dialogue, with Bloomberg reporting that Bessent had described it as a “notification mechanism between the two countries” to discuss shared concerns.

Such notifications were for incidents or situations that rise "up to a national security level from AI.”

Despite warnings of the dangers posed by AI in recent weeks, sometimes from current and former leaders within companies like Anthropic and OpenAI, both Trump and China remain optimistic about AI’s future.

Trump has called concerns a “hoax” and rejected calls to slow the pace of development of AI.

A foreign affairs spokesperson for China called the warnings “fearmongering.”

There remains a large amount of common ground between the two countries despite fierce disagreements on the specifics.

Previsit visits

The focus that Xi and his team have given to the visit, with seemingly no other distractions, implies the seriousness of the discussions.

Most of the points of agreement appear to be ways of making sure communication between the two sides is clear.

But Xi has also spent the past two weeks on a pre-state visit global tour, visiting Kyrgyzstan for a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting, Egypt, highlighting its growing influence in Central Asia and the Middle East, and attending a BRICS summit in India.

While in New Delhi, his speech at some points seemed like a veiled prod at U.S. trade and foreign policy, saying that “Decoupling and cutting off supply chains will not hold back our development process.”

He attacked the “small yard high fences” view of the world, saying that it would only “box oneself in and divide the world”.

While being less pointed about the situation in the Middle East, Xi called the Iran War “against the common interest of the international community.”

Trump’s own desire to highlight how highly he thinks of Xi, of which meeting him directly after his arrival is one sign, shows that the relationship remains of utmost importance to both countries, even if they wished otherwise.