Man jailed for choking grandmother when she refused to give him money; Woman openly vapes on Jetstar flight from Singapore to Bangkok: Singapore live news

The police are investigating a student protest staged at the National University of Singapore (NUS) on Monday (13 Jan).

The protest was held in front of the CREATE research building where 100 shoes and a white burial shroud were placed. According to the organisers, who identified themselves as Students For Palestine Singapore, the display was intended to “mourn and honour” Palestinian students who lost their lives in the ongoing conflict.

A statement by the police read, "The police would like to remind members of the public that public assemblies in Singapore are regulated under the Public Order Act 2009."

For more on the NUS student protest, and why the building was chosen, read here.

Pokemon fans couldn't catch 'em all at Pokemon Center Singapore on Friday (17 Jan).

The shop was supposed to launch Prismatic Evolution, a highly anticipated and popular set from the Pokemon trading card game, at 10am.

However, a massive crowd at Jewel Changi Airport caused the Pokemon Center Singapore to stop physical sales of the product. The product was still being sold online via their official Shopee store till stocks ran out.

The Pokemon Center Singapore said they were "unable to provide a specific date for when in-store sales will resume" and apologised for the inconvenience.

A fan who was at Jewel told AsiaOne that "unofficial queues" had formed before the store opened at 10am. He tried getting the product online but it was "sold out instantly".

Social media videos on Friday morning showed a huge crowd that spread out to the areas in front of neighbouring shops.

Another fan told Mothership that he estimated the crowd size to be about 600. He also heard that someone started queuing from 11pm the night before, even though Pokemon Center Singapore had explicitly said overnight queues weren't allowed.

On 15 Jan, the Pokemon Center Singapore announced that they were going to launch Prismatic Evolution. It's a coveted set among fans and collectors as some of the special variant cards can sell for hundreds of dollars.

The announcement also laid out some rules and it stated that overnight queues wouldn't be recognised.

They wrote, "Any queue formed that is not managed by Pokémon Center Singapore will not be acknowledged and dispersed. Guests who do not abide by this regulation may lose their opportunity to be guided into store or refused entry."

The Pokemon Center Singapore had planned to organise a queue on the day itself for buyers to get a Purchase Ticket which will allow the entry into the store to buy a product from the set. Each ticket would have entitled its holder to purchase one product only.

After much ado about a leaked model, Nintendo has finally released the first look at the Nintendo Switch 2.

The handheld console has been the subject of much speculation and rumours since last year, but it is real. The reveal of the console came in the form of a two-minute teaser trailer which showcased the design that looks largely similar to its seven-year-old predecessor.

The Joy-Cons are all black now, with blue and orange colour accents.

The Switch 2 is scheduled to be released in 2025.

Fans will also be pleased to know that the console can play Switch games, so don't toss away your old games just yet.

Details were sparse in the trailer, but some of its design and features have already leaked. For more on the Switch 2, read here.

The Lunar New Year is just around the corner and buying bak kwa has become a tradition.

It's also around this time that prices traditionally spike, which makes buying bak kwa quite tricky. You can't buy it too early to avoid the price hike because it doesn't keep for too long, but if you buy it closer to the Lunar New Year, you're paying a little more for it.

However, a price increase is inevitable due to the rising cost of ingredients. That said, some shops have tried to keep prices low this year, according to a CNA report on 7 Jan.

If you're in the market for some bak kwa, then here's a guide for bak kwa prices in 2025 across the various shops.

The government is "not averse" to implementing more property cooling measures if required, but they are waiting for current measures to work, said Minister for National Development Desmond Lee.

In August 2024, Singapore introduced new curbs on public housing, which included a lower loan-to-value limit on financing from the public housing authority.

Singapore has introduced four sets of cooling measures since December 2021.

Speaking to Singapore media, Lee said, "We are not averse to putting in new measures if necessary, because we need to ultimately make sure there's no property bubble, whether it's on the private side or the public housing side."

For more on Minister Desmond Lee's views on the cooling measures, read here.

A woman was caught on video vaping on a Jetstar flight from Singapore to Bangkok.

The video was uploaded to Exploring Singapore's TikTok account on 15 Jan, and the woman can be seen exhaling clouds of vapour.

The video then cut to a clip of an in-flight magazine with the safety rules clearly stating that the use of e-cigarettes and vaping are strictly prohibited. The final clip shows the woman returning to her seat after seemingly talking to a male flight attendant.

In the comments, the TikTok user said the flight attendant was the cabin crew manager and they confirmed the woman was vaping.

The TikTok user shared that the cabin crew spoke to the woman as well, but "seemed more concern about us deleting the footage".

According to AsiaOne, a Jetstar Asia spokesperson said the vape was confiscated by cabin crew, and the incident has been reported to local authorities.

It is illegal to purchase, possess and use vapes in Singapore, and offenders can be fined up to $2,000.

Vaping is also illegal in Thailand.

A man was jailed for choking his 84-year-old grandmother and pulling her hair when she refused to give him money.

He had also breached a personal protection order (PPO) that restrained him from using violence against her.

Jeremy Su Zhiwei, 33, pleaded guilty to one charge of voluntarily causing hurt and another charge of contravening a protection order on 16 Jan. He was sentenced to 12 weeks' jail, reported The Straits Times (ST).

The PTO has been put in place since 2022 after Su had multiple physical altercations with his grandmother.

According to ST, Su went to his grandmother's house on 22 Nov, 2024, and demanded money from her. She refused as he didn't want to tell her what the money was for. Court documents also didn't state what the money was for.

After they argued, the grandmother went to bed. Su followed, and kicked her bed frame vigorously as he was unhappy.

He then choked his grandmother, and pulled her hair when she grabbed his hands to break free.

After he released her and went to the living room, the grandmother called her son, who is Su's uncle, to tell him about the assault.

The police were called and Su was arrested on the same day.

The prosecution said the victim had bruising on her neck and redness on her scalp.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Cheah Wenjie sought a jail term of 12 to 14 weeks and said, "After years of repeated abusive behaviour towards his 84-year-old grandmother, the accused has now strangled her and then pulled her hair all because she refused to give in to his demands for money from her.

"His actions were a repeated breach of the PPO that his grandmother had tried to protect herself with."