Daily roundup: Singapore-based Ami Patisserie chef Makoto Arami wins French Pastry Talent of the Year award — and other top stories today, World News
1. Singapore-based Ami Patisserie chef Makoto Arami wins French Pastry Talent of the Year award
Chef Makoto Arami, of Singapore-based Ami Patisserie in Scotts Road, has received the Pastry Talent of the Year Award 2025 from French gastronomy guide Le Liste on Monday (June 16)... » READ MORE
2. Malaysia's Klang river clean-up: More than 10 bodies, including infant, discovered since 2022
Over 10 bodies, including that of an infant, have been discovered in the Klang river in Malaysia during cleanup works since 2022... » READ MORE
3. 'Does your gun have bullets?' Malaysian man tries to touch auxiliary officer's weapon at Woodlands Checkpoint, gets jail
A Malaysian man has been sentenced to jail after he attempted to touch an auxiliary officer's gun at Woodlands Checkpoint... » READ MORE
4. Star Awards 2025: Sean Lau among over 200 artistes to attend, Chantalle Ng to make hosting debut
Star Awards is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year with more than 200 international and local stars gracing the stage... » READ MORE
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CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
'Finally, someone's interested in you': When male victims of sexual crimes are mocked or dismissed, the hurt deepens
The MRT train on the East-West Line was mostly empty that day in 2017. Yet, a woman in her 30s chose to stand uncomfortably close to 22-year-old Mike (not his real name), who was leaning against a glass panel. "She had places to stand, places to sit, but she chose to stand next to me," he recalled. He brushed it off at first, but as the train trudged along, he felt the woman's hand touch his thigh. He turned his head to see that the woman had angled her arm backwards in an unnatural position to do so. "At that moment, I was just baffled. My mind went blank and I couldn't think. What am I supposed to do in this kind of situation? Who's going to help a guy like me?" he said. "Because of that, I didn't react in any way. I just cowered in the corner as much as possible and I realised that the more I did that, the bolder she got." The woman retracted her hand from his thigh only when they reached a station where the train doors opened next to them and other passengers streamed in. Mike took the opportunity to leave the train then. When he confided to his friends about what had happened to him, their responses, regardless of gender, were the same – gently mocking or teasing, none taking the incident seriously. "At least you gained something out of the experience." "Finally, someone's interested in you." Because of their reactions, Mike, who turns 30 years old this year, felt that there was no point in reporting the incident because he believed that the authorities would just make light of the situation in the same way. These comments also frustrated him immensely and contributed towards his "spiral into a dark place", he said. "It set an expectation in me that this isn't a big deal. And even if I do share it with other people, no one is ever going to think that I was taken advantage of." For those reasons, till today, he has not sought professional counselling. Mike's story is indicative of a broader problem in society – male victims of sex crimes tend to go unheard, are made fun of or dismissed. This was made clear in the social media comments on a news report earlier last month, about a woman who was charged after allegedly committing sexual offences against a boy who was her primary school student and stalking him. Court documents stated that the 34-year-old Singaporean hugged the boy, kissed him, sat on his lap and ground her body against him in a car at a multi-storey car park between February and October 2019. On social media, many commenters made light of it, saying, for example, that the incident was a "dream" or "fantasy" for many school boys, or that they were envious of the victim. Experts told CNA TODAY that such trivialisation or dismissive responses can have an impact on survivors that is as profound as the assault itself. Ms Anita Krishnan-Shankar, a psychologist and sex therapist at Alliance Counselling, said this is especially significant for male survivors since their experiences are rarely acknowledged. "When a man finds the courage to speak out – often after years of silence – and is met with disbelief or trivialisation, the effects can be devastating," she said. "Such reactions reinforce feelings of shame, perpetuate the culture of silence and deeply undermine the survivor's sense of self-worth." The latest figures from the Singapore Police Force show that the number of men who have had their modesty outraged has increased more than twofold since 2015.
Independent Singapore
10 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
‘I feel stuck' — Singapore woman says ex-husband left her with S$230k debt
SINGAPORE: A 24-year-old woman has expressed her frustration on social media after her 30-year-old ex-husband left her with a mountain of debt totalling S$230,000. Posting on the r/singaporefi forum, she shared that in the early days of their relationship, everything seemed fine. 'Everything was okay,' she wrote. 'I had my own savings. I was happy.' Both of them were working; she was earning around S$4,000 after CPF, and they were living peacefully with their child at her mother's home. However, a few months later, she discovered that her ex-husband had lied about having a job. At the time, he tried to reassure her by saying 'he was going to start a business.' Believing in him and wanting to be supportive, she lent him money and even took out 'unsecured loans' in her name for his business. These loans eventually added up to S$145,000. And since he always paid her back on time at first, she thought everything was under control. Unfortunately, that couldn't have been further from the truth. She later learned that her ex-husband had approached her brother to borrow S$43,000, supposedly to 'top up' their BTO payment — something that left her stunned, as they had never even applied for a BTO flat in the first place. On top of that, he had taken out loans from illegal moneylenders, which she only discovered after receiving threatening messages demanding that she repay S$2,700. He had also borrowed money from other family members and even reached out to their friends for cash. 'The money he borrowed from our friends was his plan to scam them that he would do investments with great returns etc, he used my NRIC to create new phone lines from SingTel and StarHub (delivered to my house, so not much verification needed) then sell off the phone., he used my Grab PayLater account for his transport and it increases from there bit by bit,' she shared.w The woman clarified that she had been in the dark about all of this, as much of her attention went into her medical treatment. 'He was trying to cover another hole by digging another hole, and for you guys that might think, why didn't you know about all of this, it's impossible you're his wife! I had to quit my job because I was admitted to the hospital because my blood was toxic, so I had to do kidney dialysis, so I've been in and out of the hospital.' The woman said that her ex-husband, amidst all the turmoil, asked for a divorce 'because he said he wants to file for bankruptcy so no one can claim him.' As her ex-husband 'ran away like a coward' and left her to bear all of it, she eventually fell into a depression, and had to see a psychiatrist last month. Unfortunately, the woman shared that even to this day, the people her ex-husband borrowed money from have not stopped chasing her for repayment. Despite making it clear that she was unaware of many of the loans and is in no position to settle the debts immediately, she said they continue to contact her regularly. 'They still ask me every single day when I can pay them back because the reasoning for the owed amount was that 'he borrowed for us.' [They're] growing impatient even though I've said that I'm in no position to pay everything back immediately,' she wrote. See also Morning Digest, Dec 4 'There's line of creditors always calling me debts are a total of S$230,000. S$100k+ DCP and the rest are just family, friends, GPL, phone lines. I feel stuck, I've been actively searching for a job but I'm left with no answers and my freelance jobs only earn me about S$2.7k (NO CPF),' she continued. The woman also wrote that she's putting her story out there to serve as a cautionary tale and so that others can 'feel better about their financial situation.' She ended her post with a firm message to her ex-husband, writing, 'What would you do if you were in my situation and knowing that my ex-husband is always on Reddit, so Joshua, if you are seeing this, don't run away from the mess you created.' 'Karma always finds a way to deal with those who deserve it.' Since the post went up two days ago, many Reddit users have taken to the comments section to criticise her ex-husband for his actions and apparent lack of accountability. 'Joshua, if you are here reading this. Man the heck up and take responsibility,' one user wrote. 'You are a father and a husband. It's never too late to make things right and take some accountability for your poor decisions. There is a long way to go in life, and it's still not too late to own up!! Don't make your wife and your child the victim here.' Another user commented, 'Joshua, karma always finds a way to deal with those who deserve it, regardless of religion.' A third said, 'There's a lot of horror husband stories but this is one of the worst I've ever heard. I am in admiration of the way you are handling all this stress. Definitely go after him for alimony and child support in the divorce. Demand that your 'alimony' be the amount of debt repayment he incurred.' A fourth added, 'You're way too young to be facing something like this. Sorry to hear this, and sorry your pos husband did this to you. Hope you can work your way out slowly and take this as a lesson, you still have a much, much brighter and long future ahead.' In other news, a domestic helper from the Philippines has reached out online for advice after a difficult first week on the job in Singapore, saying she has been overworked and sleep-deprived while caring for an elderly man. In her post, the helper shared that she spends the entire day cleaning the house and attending to the elderly man's needs, with no proper breaks. Her only time to sit, she said, is during meals. 'My only time to sit down at daytime is my mealtime, and at night I don't have enough sleep,' she wrote on the Direct Hire Transfer Singapore Maid / Domestic Helper Facebook group. 'I get up every 1 or 2 hours to help Grandpa's urinal. I'm overworked here at my employer's house.' Read more: Maid says she's overworked and sleep-deprived after just one week caring for elderly man in Singapore
CNA
17 hours ago
- CNA
Commentary: Why we need to be wary of AI as an enabler of terrorism
SINGAPORE: Terrorism presents a persistent danger to Singapore. The latest Singapore Terrorism Threat Assessment Report, released on Tuesday (Jul 29), attributed this threat to a 'volatile global landscape' fuelled by global developments such as the Gaza conflict and a growing range of extremist ideologies, some of which have already manifested in Singapore. The continued risk should not come as a surprise, nor should the growing influence of technology and digital platforms in enabling terror threats. But what stood out in this year's report was the emergence of innovations in artificial intelligence as a factor in the growing complexity of the local and global terrorist threat. Not that this was surprising either, given the rapid development and adoption of AI. But we are only beginning to see the impact of AI on everything from jobs and education to the way we form human connections – and its emerging role in terrorism is concerning. The Internal Security Department (ISD) said that new technology like AI and 3D printing have thus far not been proven to have been used in any terror attack plot in Singapore, but they have featured in the self-radicalisation of local youths. A 17-year-old Islamic State supporter detained in September 2024, for example had used an AI chatbot to generate a bai'ah or pledge of allegiance to ISIS, as well as a declaration of armed jihad against non-Muslims to inspire other Muslims in Singapore to engage in armed violence. In another case, a 17-year-old supporter of far-right extremist ideologies detained in March this year had searched for instructions on an AI chatbot on how to produce ammunition, and considered 3D-printing his own firearms as part of his plans to conduct attacks locally. ISD said that, given the increased sophistication and ease of access to these and other emerging technologies, potential terror activities and plots in the future can be expected to feature such technologies going forward. EVOLVING TACTICS AND TECHNIQUES There are a number of ways that new and evolving technology like AI can be harnessed by terrorist organisations to advance their aims. First, in accelerating radicalisation and recruitment. AI has been used to generate disinformation at a scale and speed much faster than what could be achieved by manual means alone. Many extremists misappropriate, misinterpret or manipulate religious prophecies or social narratives to suit their ideologies and win more supporters to their cause. In that vein, AI would be able to make such efforts, which bear significant similarities to disinformation operations, more effective and efficient. AI-powered chatbots tap into our human need for companionship, but have also been shown to be easily manipulated. Isolated individuals may find seemingly empathetic connections and be nudged toward extremist ideology. Another risk is how AI could be deployed by terror organisations in ever more innovative ways to create chaos and confusion. A recent investigation by the BBC unearthed evidence that identities of British public sector workers had been cloned using AI by a Russian-linked disinformation campaign. For example, an emergency medical adviser in the UK had his voice faked in a video campaign spreading fear ahead of Poland's presidential election earlier this year. In the recent Israel-Iran conflict, AI-driven disinformation such as fake videos and images showing the purported prowess and success of both sides were shared widely in the online space, with the aim of bolstering support for each side's campaign. Third, AI could be used by radicalised individuals to generate and suggest plans and strategies to conduct terror attacks, which would be especially appealing to younger, more vulnerable individuals who may not have been exposed to formal training or direct contact with terror organisations. Combined with existing trends such as using AI to produce deepfake videos, and the other tactics detailed in the report, these present a complex and complicated environment that can only increase the chances of terrorism threats permeating across the world. WHAT CAN BE DONE While the report makes clear that there is currently no specific intelligence of an imminent terrorist attack against Singapore, it is important to not take such relative peace for granted. All eight Singaporeans dealt with under the country's Internal Security Act since last July were self-radicalised by extremist materials they found online. ISD said that such platforms have accelerated the time taken between individuals' first encounter with terrorist and radical elements, and their subscription to violent extremist ideologies. Statistics show that the time taken for self-radicalisation for cases detected in Singapore has essentially halved from 24 months prior to 2015, to an average of 12 months between 2021 and 2025. Some cases took mere weeks. In particular, the vulnerability of the youth to radicalisation remains a pressing concern. Much of ISD's prescribed efforts to counter the risk of terrorism and violent extremism are focused on enhancing counter-terrorism capabilities, beefing up border security, and working with social and education agencies to address the threat early. However, given the potential for emerging and evolving technologies such as AI to be used by terrorist organisations to enable and enhance their efforts and operations, equal emphasis should be placed on identifying such threats as early as possible. This will require close collaboration between the government and security agencies and technology counterparts in the private sector, while also ensuring the people are educated and kept up to date on such threats as soon as they are detected, whether at home or abroad.
