SINGAPORE – A 43-year-old woman was arrested on Dec 25 after graffiti was found scribbled on the walls and some parked vehicles at The Salvation Army’s premises in Bukit Timah earlier in the morning. In a statement on Dec 25, the police said they were alerted to a case of graffiti at Praisehaven – The Salvation Army at 500 Upper Bukit Timah Road, at about 9.15am. Officers found offensive words scribbled with red spray paint on the premises and on properties, including the building’s walls and three vans, they said, adding that investigations are ongoing.   In images uploaded on Instagram page Sgfollowsall at about 2pm on Dec 25, at least three parked vehicles and two walls are seen covered with large sheets of red and yellow cloth. When The Straits Times arrived at around 3.30pm, workers had just finished covering up the graffiti on the exterior and interior walls, as well as on the white Salvation Army vans. Remnants of red paint could still be seen on the vans. There were no police vehicles seen in the compound, which was mostly empty. When approached by ST, Mr Marc Lee, the public relations head at The Salvation Army Singapore, declined to share the words that were spray-painted, adding that they were “sensitive in nature and concerned religion”. Graffiti was found scribbled on the walls and some parked vans at Praisehaven - The Salvation Army in Upper Bukit Timah Road on Christmas Day. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG Mr Lee added that an officer who lives on the compound had found the graffiti at around 7.30am during a routine morning check. In a statement on Facebook at around 5.10pm, The Salvation Army Singapore said the act appeared to be intended to disrupt the Christmas celebrations scheduled at the location.   It added that after ensuring the safety of congregants, all Christmas services proceeded as planned. “As the matter is currently under police investigation, we are unable to comment further at this time,” it said. A check on The Salvation Army’s William Booth Corps Family & Friends Facebook page shows that there was a Christmas Day service at the premises at 10am. Around 100 people, including migrant workers who are beneficiaries of The Salvation Army, were seen attending a Tamil service at about 4.30pm. Walls at the premises were seen covered with large pieces of red and yellow cloth. PHOTO: SGFOLLOWSALL/INSTAGRAM Speaking to ST, The Salvation Army’s Lieutenant Sin Soon Ho said: “We are still able to conduct the services we want to on Christmas Day, and our guests are unaffected, which is what is most important.” Lt Sin said the gates to the premises are open at all times every day so that people can drop off their items at the donation points. He added that the doors to the internal building are also not locked, so it is likely that someone just walked in. He noted that there were Christmas Eve celebrations at the premises till about 11.30pm on Dec 24 and the graffiti was not spotted at the time. Workers had covered up the graffiti on the white Salvation Army vans by around 3.30pm. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG A churchgoer, who gave his name only as Mr Das, told ST that this was the first such incident he has heard of since he started attending weekly services at The Salvation Army in the 1980s. He added that he was not worried about the situation, given Singapore’s tight security. Fellow congregants have also always been peaceful, he said. “The Salvation Army is always helping people and collecting donations for the needy. What is there to get angry about?” In its statement, The Salvation Army Singapore expressed its gratitude to those who have provided assistance, as well as to members of the public who have reached out with messages of concern and support. The police said they take a very serious view of acts that threaten Singapore’s racial and religious harmony. “Such behaviour will not be condoned, and offenders will be dealt with firmly in accordance with the law,” they added. Red spray paint on the walls of Praisehaven - The Salvation Army's compound was removed, leaving faint markings of the graffiti. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG The incident comes days after a 26-year-old church volunteer was arrested on Dec 21 for allegedly placing an item resembling an explosive device at St Joseph’s Church, which is also in Upper Bukit Timah Road. Mass services at the church were cancelled after the police were alerted to the incident at around 7am. The item was found to be three cardboard cylinders filled with stone pebbles and sporting protruding red wires, held together with black and yellow adhesive tape. The volunteer, Kokulananthan Mohan, was charged on Dec 22 with making a false threat of a terrorist act. He is believed to have acted alone. In an earlier statement, the police said there was no evidence to suggest that it was a religiously motivated attack or an act of terror.

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[SINGAPORE] Taxi operator ComfortDelGro and ride-hailing firm Grab will be increasing their platform fees from Jan 1, 2026. ComfortDelGro will increase the range of its platform fees from S$1 to S$1.20, to S$1 to S$1.30, it said on its website. This will apply to ride bookings made through app-based platforms, such as its CDG Zig app and Kris+. Grab passengers will pay S$1.20, up from the current 90 cents, the firm said in an e-mail announcement on Wednesday (Dec 24).   In response to queries from The Straits Times, a Grab spokesperson said that as the 30 cent adjustment is to the platform and partner fee, passenger fares will not be increased by a fixed amount. Instead, fares will continue to be dynamically calculated based on supply-and-demand conditions, trip characteristics and time of booking. ComfortDelGro said the adjustment “helps defray the operating expenses to support the Ministry of Manpower’s initiatives for CPF contributions and Work Injury Compensation insurance for Platform Workers”. The hike will support upcoming updates to drivers’ Central Provident Fund (CPF) contribution rates under the Platform Workers Act, said Grab.   It will also go towards platform maintenance and service improvements, as well as other welfare initiatives, Grab added. The new fee will apply only to transport rides, with other services – GrabFood, GrabMart and GrabExpress – remaining unchanged. Under the Platform Workers Act, which came into force in January, it is mandatory for younger platform workers born on or after Jan 1, 1995, to contribute more to their CPF accounts. Platform companies are required to contribute their share.     Over the next five years, the contribution rates for these platform workers will increase by up to 2.5 percentage points a year, while the rates for platform operators will rise by up to 3.5 percentage points a year. Grab said that with the gradual increase in CPF contributions over the next five years, its fee may be adjusted “from time to time” to reflect these changes and other welfare and operational costs. Meanwhile, Grab added that its driver fee – a separate cost that customers have to bear that “helps offset increased on-the-road costs” for drivers – will remain at 50 cents until June 30, 2026. The platform announced a similar move exactly a year ago on Dec 24, 2024, along with other ride-hailing apps. In a response to ST’s query, a Tada spokesperson said the platform will not be revising its platform fee or introducing new ones for now. “We will continue to support ongoing policies aimed at protecting platform workers and riders, while maintaining our existing platform fee structure,” the spokesperson said. ST has contacted ride-hailing operators Gojek and Ryde for more information.  

SNOC's Mark Chay criticised the Young Lions' attitude after their loss to Timor-Leste, saying they didn't acknowledge fans. FAS general secretary Badri Ghent addressed Chay's comments, stating the team did acknowledge fans and said both parties will work together moving forward. Coach Firdaus Kassim apologised for the team's performance, highlighting their lack of international experience versus regional teams. SINGAPORE – The Football Association of Singapore has expressed surprise at Singapore National Olympic Council secretary-general Mark Chay’scomments on the Young Lions’ attitude at the SEA Games.   During a post-Games review on Dec 20, Chay said that after the opening 3-1 defeat by Timor-Leste on Dec 6, the players “just walked off the field, didn’t even acknowledge the crowd”. Chay added: “I understand disappointment, but they need to really look at sportsmanship, really look at attitude and respect of the sport, as well as the people who went there to support them.”   At the FAS’ own Games review at its Jalan Besar Stadium headquarters on Dec 26, FAS general secretary Badri Ghent said their reaction was one of “shock and surprise” after coming across Chay’s comments. Emphasising that sportsmanship is a non-negotiable trait at FAS, Badri said he had a “constructive meeting” with Chay to address some of the points he brought up. “I was especially surprised because I was there at the game, and myself and some of the supporters can vouch for the fact that the players did so (acknowledge fans),” said Badri.   “In my discussions with Mark, we’ve attributed it to a situation whereby he had vacated his seat post-match and he did not see the team acknowledging the fans.” Chay had also said on Dec 20: “I think the key to actually making any change or any progress is acceptance and awareness of their problem. I haven’t heard anything from FAS or the athletes that there is a problem. I think that is a systemic problem.” But Badri said he had also discussed with Chay about the “systemic” issue and both left the meeting “feeling positive”.   He added: “In my discussions with Mark, there seemed to be some underlying issues between FAS and SNOC, but a lot of it stemmed from administrative elements. “Mark and I were more interested in looking towards the future… he clarified some of his points, which I won’t go into too much detail, but we left the meeting feeling positive. “It was a very productive and constructive discussion. His comments came from a position of care and concern for Singapore football. We look forward to working really closely with the SNOC, moving forward.” But Badri agreed with Chay’s assessment that the Young Lions had under-performed. Chay had said on Dec 20 that the team had been “outmuscled, outpaced, outlasted”. Badri said: “We will be the first to acknowledge that a lot of things can be done better and will be done better. There was a lot of alignment with Mark on this.” When contacted by The Straits Times, Chay said: “We had a good discussion and agree to move forward together.” At the FAS review, Singapore Under-22s coach Firdaus Kassim also apologised, adding that he takes responsibility for the team’s “underwhelming” Games campaign. A 3-0 loss to Thailand five days after the Timor Leste defeat confirmed their sixth consecutive exit from the Games’ group stage.   The Singapore Under-22 football team can't hide their disappointment after a 3-0 loss to Thailand at the SEA Games in Thailand on Dec 11. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO During the review, Firdaus also provided statistics which showed the make-up of his squad and the disparity in international experience between his team and their regional counterparts. According to him, the overall selection pool for the Young Lions had a combined total of 3,562 minutes in both senior team and U-23 international games, while Timor-Leste and Thailand’s squads had 9,639 and 12,772 minutes respectively. In another slide that showed the players’ total U-23 and international caps, Singapore was ranked lowest – with 124 – with Vietnam the highest with 379. “This is the very big gap we are trying to catch up on,” said Firdaus, who was appointed in June. “This is one of the reasons why in the last six months, we were very aggressive in trying to arrange high-quality matches for them internationally. So when we talk about the players going into a tournament, they look inexperienced, they struggle in certain moments of the game. I think it is mainly because of the inexperience of these players. The numbers are glaring.” Promising action, FAS vice-president Tan Li Yu said: “Getting the minutes, the exposure for these players is of utmost importance. It is something we will continue to review.” He also hinted at the addition of “senior” players to the Young Lions as an immediate remedy for improving performances. The team have lost all five of their matches in this season’s Singapore Premier League (SPL). Tan said: “One of the key things we took away... sometimes there are certain things where you need senior players to lead, mentor the (younger) players, guide them on various issues.This is something that we will be looking to address. Playing in the SPL with only U-22 players at this point of time, there is a certain gap.” But he would not be drawn on the expectations for the next editions, saying only that they are “very committed” to giving the players the “best possible platform in terms of development”. The Lionesses, who are coached by Karim Bencherifa, were also knocked out in the group stage after losing 2-0 to Thailand and 3-1 to Indonesia. FAS council member Yeong Sheau Shyan said she is hopeful for the future because of the improvements to the women’s programme, with some changes to be rolled out in the “next few months”. Bencherifa was not at the press conference. Asked about the future of both coaches, Badri was non-committal, although Firdaus reaffirmed his commitment to the role. Badri said: “When it comes to major decisions, including coach performance, it’s something that we look at objectively and holistically. We will have further deliberations moving forward.”