The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Tuesday (3 June)it plans to impose a fine of $3 million on rail operator SMRT for the major six-day disruption on the East-West Line (EWL) in September 2024. Money collected from the fine will go to the Public Transport Fund to help lower-income families with public transport expenses. Announcement of the fine was part of LTA's investigations into the root cause of the EWL disruption. Details of the findings can be read below.

I-Health Medical raised eyebrows when it was revealed that it had a put ina record high bid of $52,188 in monthly rent for the 50 sq m ground-floor unit at Block 954C Tampines Street 96. Andrew Chim – a co-owner of the firm – has explained why the unit in question justifies the seemingly over-the-top rent.

Read more in our live blog below, including the latest local and international news and updates.

Live 6 updates

Featured

Tue, 3 June 2025 at 6:59 pm GMT-6

Marcus Chhan

SMRT fined $3m for major East-West Line disruption in September 2024

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has completed its investigation into the root cause of the major train service disruption on the East-West Line in September 2024. (Photo: SMRT/FB)

SMRT will be fined $3 million as a result of the major six-day disruption on the East-West Line (EWL) in September 2024, said theLand Transport Authority (LTA) on Tuesday (3 June).

The money collected from the fine will go to the Public Transport Fund to help lower-income families with public transport expenses.

In determining the amount, LTA took into consideration that SMRT had "borne the cost of repairs, and provision of free bridging buses and regular bus services, as well as shuttle train services at the affected stations. "It also provided free travel to passengers alighting at Jurong East and Buona Vista stations for the six days of disruption. The total costs amounted to over $10 million," said LTA.

News of the fine was part of LTA's announcement that it had completed its investigations into the root cause of the EWL disruption between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations which began on 25 September until 1 October last year.

The incident occured when a dislodged axle box caused the wheels of the third train-car of a Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) train to fall off the track. This resulted in damage to the EWL tracks between Dover station and Ulu Pandan Depot and required several days of repair works.

Here's a breakdown of LTA's findings on how the axle box failed:

The recovered axle box and axle bearings were badly damaged.

Grease in the axle box had completely burnt off.

Degraded grease in the axle box can increase wear and tear on the axle bearings causing overheating.

Overheating may have led to the rubber of the chevron springs to burn.

The chevron springs progressively dropped off and eventually caused the axle box to dislodge.

The recovered chevron spring debris was too badly damaged for any tests to be done to identify any initial damage prior to the incident.

The root cause could not be determined as key parts involved were too badly burnt and damaged.

The investigations concluded that a likely cause of the failure was degraded grease in the axle box.

Tue, 3 June 2025 at 9:43 pm GMT-6

Marcus Chhan

Singapore to acquire Malaysian land for Woodlands Checkpoint expansion

The Woodlands Checkpoint (WCP) will be redeveloped and expanded in phases over the next 10 to 15 years. (Photo: Getty)

The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) has gazetted the acquisition of two land parcels today (4 June) from Malaysia for the redevelopment and expansion of Woodlands Checkpoint (WCP).

SLA and The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said, in a joint-release, that they will work closely with the Malaysian government through the acquisition process of the land. The two land parcels have a total area of 0.79ha.

The news is part of plans to redevelop and extend the WCP in phases over the next 10 to 15 years to "provide a long-term solution to the chronic congestion at this land crossing."

According to ICA, the average daily number of travellers passing through WCP is projected to reach 400,000 by 2050. The daily traveller volume at WCP increased in 2024 to 327,000 from 269,000 in 2023.

Under Phase 1, an extension of the WCP will be built at the Old Woodlands Town Centre. You can read more about the construction process and timeline, here.

Tue, 3 June 2025 at 9:04 pm GMT-6

Marcus Chhan

The Shangri-La Dialogue: Inside Asia's top military summit

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth look on as French President Emmanuel Macron (not pictured) delivers a keynote address at Shangri-La Dialogue. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images)

The Shangri-La Dialogue is the top summit in Asia for some of the world's most powerful military leaders.

This year much of the attention was focused around US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth who not only likened US President Donald Trump to Singapore's founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew but also accused China of preparing for war. Meanwhile, China's downgraded team was a major headline in itself but the absence of key players did not stop their officials from engaging in a testy exchange with Philippine defence chief, Gilberto Teodoro.

But away from the headlines, what's it like to attend the summit? Outside the Shangri-La venue, security was tight. Inside, it was surprisingly low-key.

You can read more details of an attendee's behind-the-scenes look at this year's Shangri-La Dialogue, here.

Tue, 3 June 2025 at 8:35 pm GMT-6

South Korea's new president Lee Jae-myung vows to lift country from crisis

South Korea's President Lee Jae-myung takes his oath during his inauguration ceremony at the National Assembly in Seoul on 4 June. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung has vowed to raise South Koreafrom the ashes of a martial law crisisafter he was elected the country's new president.

South Korea's new liberal President secured a decisive victory in snap elections against his main rival who conceded defeat early Wednesday morning. The 61-year-old former human rights lawyer took 49.42% of the nearly 35 million votes cast while his conservative rival Kim Moon-soo from the People Power Party (PPP) had 41.15% in the polls.

"The first mission is to decisively overcome insurrection and to ensure there will never be another military coup with guns and swords turned against the people," Lee said in a victory speech.

Lee was officially confirmed as president on Wednesday and one of his major tasks ahead will be to deal with the devastating tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump's administration that is impacting South Korea's major industries, including autos and steel.

Tue, 3 June 2025 at 8:02 pm GMT-6

Singapore Pools to launch new Toto game that pays fixed prizes

Singapore Pools will launched a new fixed-bet game called Toto Matchnext week.

Toto Match differs from the company's traditional Toto game – where players win a jackpot prize – as it pays out a fixed prize amount per dollar bet.

Singapore Pools said the launch "is in response to consumer preferences for a fixed-payout model in the Toto game."

Sales for Toto Match will be available at all Singapore Pools branches and authorised retail outlets from 10 June. It will not be available for punters to buy online for now.

You can watch the above video to see how to play.

Tue, 3 June 2025 at 7:27 pm GMT-6

Marcus Chhan

Firm behind record $52k bid to rent Tampines HDB clinic justifies cost

A healthcare services firm placed a record high bid of $52,188 in monthly rent for a unit in a Tampines HDB estate. (Photo: ST)

A healthcare services firm sparked debate about rising rentals and healthcare costs in Singapore when it was revealed that it had a put in a record high bid of $52,188 in monthly rent for a unit in a Tampines HDB estate.

However, a co-owner for the business has now come forward to explain why the rental amount for the 50 sq m ground-floor unit at Block 954C Tampines Street 96 was justified.

Andrew Chim, who co-owns I-Health Medical Holdings, told the Straits Times on Tuesday (3 June) that the unit in question had the most attractive attributes among recent HDB units for general practitioner (GP) clinics.

The location of the unit is in the middle of Tampines West where there are a number of Build-To-Order projects as well as other upcoming developments like a new mixed-use project and a shopping mall.

“Our assessment is based on our understanding of the number of units in the area and the surrounding competition,” he saidadding that there are around five other clinics in the vicinity.

I-Health Medical plans to open its Tampines clinic on 26 June.

Chim was also asked if I-Health will increase prices at its Tampines branch. You can read the full story here.