Swimmer Yip Pin Xiu wins Singapore's first gold in Paris Paralympic Games; Changi Airport great for red-eye flights: Singapore live news

Sterra Tech Pte Ltd, which sells water filtration devices in Singapore, has publicly apologised and provided an undertaking to the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) that it will cease making false and misleading claims on the quality of Singapore's tap water, as well as other claims relating to its air and water purifiers, the CCCS said in a statement on Friday (30 August).

The CCCS added that it initiated the investigation earlier this year under its fair trading laws after receiving several complaints on an online advertisement by Sterra in February 2024. In the ad, CCCS said, the company had falsely claimed that Singapore's tap water is unsafe for direct consumption without being filtered using water purifiers sold by Sterra.

Investigations by CCCS also revealed that Sterra had made other false and misleading representations on its website between February 2023 and March 2024, the watchdog said. These included:

a) False Country of Manufacture claims: Three models of air purifiers sold by Sterra were made in Singapore when they were in fact made in China.

b) Misleading "Korean" labelling: Two models of Sterra's water purifiers were marketed as "Korean" when they were neither sourced from nor manufactured in Korea, but were in fact manufactured in China.

c) False discounts: The "usual" (i.e. pre-discount) prices that Sterra claimed for comparison with its discounted price were not genuine previous prices and, in fact, never offered to any customer.

Do you own a Sterra purifier? Get more details on the Sterra issue here.

Remember the billionaire Australian boss who went viral for banning his staff from working from home (WFH)?

Now, Chris Ellison, the managing director of Australian mining company Mineral Resources, has said he doesn't want employees to leave the office to get a coffee.

While touting the facilities of his company's two-year-old headquarters in Perth, Australia, he said, "I want to hold them captive all daylong. I don't want them leaving the building.

"I don't want them walking down the road for a cup of coffee, we figured out a few years ago how much that costs. Wandering out around lunchtime, we've got a restaurant in there [the office], we've also got a gym, and we've got other facilities that keep them glued in there."

Find out what else he had to say.

In the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, the search goes on for the 48-year-old female Indian tourist who fell into a sinkhole on Jalan Masjid India last week.

Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) deputy director (operations) Datuk Nor Hisham Mohammad said that rescue personnel are working to remove debris and blockages over a 44m stretch from the sinkhole to Wisma Jakel to reach an object lodged along the span.

Read for more details on the search and rescue operation, which is in its eighth day today (Friday, 30 August).

Next week, Pope Francis will embark on his most ambitious trip in 11 years since he began leading the Catholic Church.

He will visit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore over the next fortnight.

His stop in Singapore will be on 11-13 September. Read more about Pope Francis upcoming itinerary here.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Friday (30 August) that the administrative charge for missed Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) payments will be waived if the payments are settled within a five-day grace period. This will start from 1 October.

Now, motorists who fail to pay an ERP charge when they pass a gantry will receive a letter some days later, requiring that they pay a $10 administrative charge on top of the missed payment.

Read on for the details of the ERP admin charge waiver.

In the hopes of getting a divorce quicker, a Singapore man had planned what he thought was the "perfect crime" by planting cannabis in his estranged wife's car.

The 37-year-old man had gotten married with his wife in 2021 but she moved out of their home in October 2022 after their relationship broke down.

After consulting lawyers, the man thought that it would be easier to get a divorce if one of them had a criminal record.

He was sentenced yesterday to three years and 10 months' jail for one count of possession of at least 216g of cannabis that was found in packets.

Read on to find out how his crime was found out and the details of police investigations.

A woman has been arrested for allegedly trying to rob a customer at a Thomson Road restaurant with a knife.

Local media reported that police were alerted to the case at 9.34am on Thursday (29 August), according to a statement put out by the Singapore Police Force (SPF).

However, before the police arrived, the restaurant staff had reportedly intervened and the 50-year-old woman had left.

Through CCTV footage, police cameras and ground enquiries, the police arrested the woman some nine hours later, SPF said.

Meanwhile, another woman was charged on Thursday with attempted unlawful possession of firearms.

While the 33-year-old woman was being interviewed at the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) duty office at Woodlands Checkpoint, she attempted to reach for the firearm of an ICA officer. She was immediately placed under arrest.

Singapore also scores in a different kind of competition – though entirely unofficial.

A travel expert who says he flies 200,000 miles a year has listed Changi Airport as one of the best airports to have a red-eye flight.

He is impressed by the array of food and lounges. "Singapore Changi Airport is always the leading G.O.A.T. of local food stalls," Ott said. "Some of the best local food is at the airport because famous places in Singapore set up locations there."

Find out what else he's saying about Changi Airport and which other airports around the world made the list.

Congratulations, Yip Pin Xiu!

The swimmer has won Singapore's first gold medal at the 2024 Paris Paralympics with her swim of 2:21.73 at the 100m backstroke S2 final. This is her third successive win of the event.