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SINGAPORE — New details have emerged to show that the cyclist who suffered a gunshot wound, and his friends, may have taken steps to conceal from the authorities the route they took on Sunday (June 15).

Reporters learnt that the 42-year-old did not initially disclose to the police and the National University Hospital (NUH) that he had been riding near the Nee Soon live-firing range when he was hit by a projectile.

The area between Upper Seletar and Upper Peirce reservoirs in the Central Catchment Nature Reserve (CCNR) is gazetted for live-firing, with clear signs warning hikers and riders against trespassing.

The cyclist, identified as L, often tracks his rides on hiking and cycling tracking app Strava. Checks by reporters showed him entering the cycling trail from Chestnut Nature Park at about 9.50am on June 15, a Sunday.

He was with a group of about 10 cyclists at the time. At least one other cyclist, identified as W, was his regular riding partner.

W deleted details on Strava of his ride on June 15. But the route he took was mapped out on W's Garmin account, which is accessible to the public.

The apps show the pair hitting the cycling track at around the same time.

After leaving Chestnut Nature Park, they entered the Woodcutter's Trail in the CCNR at about 11am. The trail takes riders and hikers deep into restricted areas.

In an earlier statement, the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) said that the man was hit by a bullet slug at about 11.40am. L was then taken to NUH by his friends at about 1pm.

The police were alerted only at 11.55pm, more than 12 hours after the incident.

In response to reporters queries, an NUH spokeswoman said the cyclist was admitted to the emergency department.

"During triage and initial clinical assessment, the patient did not report that he had been shot," she said.

"There were no overt signs to indicate a firearm-related injury based on the patient's account and the circumstances surrounding the patient's admission.

"Hence, there was no known basis for a police report to be made at that point."

Reporters understands that L also did not disclose he had been riding in a live-firing area earlier.

NUH said the patient was attended to promptly based on standard trauma protocols, and was closely monitored.

He was given appropriate care and assessed to be in a stable condition throughout.

The cyclist underwent emergency surgery and received multidisciplinary care from the team at NUH's National University Centre for Trauma.

Reporters understands that as his injuries were not life-threatening, he went under the knife only at about 10pm, when a metal object was removed from his lower left back and later identified as a bullet slug.

It had narrowly missed his kidney.

"Once the cause of the external wound was definitively determined, we notified the police immediately," said the NUH spokeswoman.

She said the hospital is cooperating fully with the police, and is unable to comment further due to patient confidentiality and as the case is under investigation.

The police said NUH alerted them at 11.55pm of the gunshot wound.

After receiving the alert, the police activated their investigators and the Gurkha Contingent, who then combed the CCNR area.

The cyclist was interviewed by police investigators, but he again said he was nowhere near restricted areas when he was injured.

The man admitted the next day that he had been riding in a restricted area in the CCNR when he was shot.

It emerged later that the SAF was conducting a live-firing exercise at Nee Soon Range, around the time when L was riding in the Woodcutter's Trail.

Regular rides

The CCNR is Singapore's largest nature reserve, with more than 2,000ha of forest land and over 20km of trails, according to the National Parks Board.

The Woodcutter's Trail is a popular unofficial cycling route in the CCNR, known for its steep slopes and winding track. It is in a restricted area closed off to the public.

Riders typically start at Chestnut Nature Park off Bukit Panjang and cycle about 6km to get to the trail, usually exiting it near Mandai Crematorium or Seletar Reservoir via areas clearly marked as restricted.

​L's Strava account showed that he had accessed the unofficial trail from as early as 2014, and cycled there on a battery-powered mountain bike frequently.

Before the incident, he used the trail at least 10 times in 2025, clocking between 14km and 27km each time.

L and W regularly ride with patrons of a bicycle shop near Pasir Panjang.

After reporters visited the shop on the morning of June 19, W privatised his Strava and Garmin accounts.

L has also deleted his social media accounts.

Other cyclists who have frequented the Woodcutter's Trail have also started scrubbing videos and pictures of their previous visits to the area.

Mindef said that under the Military Manoeuvres Act, unauthorised individuals are not allowed to enter gazetted areas designated for SAF live-firing for their own safety.

The police said on June 18 that the cyclist who was shot is being investigated for wilful trespass.

Investigations by the police and the SAF are ongoing.

SINGAPORE – A 41-year-old male cyclist was taken to hospital after an accident with a car in Bugis on the morning of June 19.

The police were alerted to the accident at Victoria Street towards Kallang Road at 6.30am.

In video footage of the accident uploaded on the SG Road Vigilante Facebook page, a cyclist can be seen riding across one side of the junction. He appears to be going against a red traffic light.

​As he crosses the middle of the junction, a car comes into the frame, and the ensuing collision sends him flying off his bicycle.

The cyclist was taken unconscious to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, said the police and the Singapore Civil Defence Force.

A 44-year-old male car driver is assisting with police investigations.

SINGAPORE – A production by theatre company Wild Rice has been pulled by the authorities for “glamourising drug abuse”, just a day before its staging.

The dramatised reading of Homepar by playwright Mitchell Fang has been disallowed in its current form, said the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in a joint statement on June 20.

The revised script submitted on June 5 had substantially changed from the version submitted on April 21, they noted.

This earlier script met classification requirements and could be staged under a R18 rating.

However, the revised script was found to have breached the Arts Entertainment Classification Code (AECC).

“The new material depicts and glamourises drug abuse and portrays an undercover Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officer shielding abusers from detection,” said the joint statement.

“It undermines Singapore’s anti-drug policy, our drug rehabilitation regime and public confidence in the CNB. Performances that undermine Singapore’s national interest are not permitted under the AECC.”

The approximately 90-minute production centres on a Homepar, a house party in which the gay nightclub atmosphere is recreated in a living or hotel room.

According to a synopsis on Wild Rice’s website, a character called Oliver hosts one such party in a home shared with their widowed mother, as they “power through a tough break-up and celebrate their evolving gender identity”.

​It is one of several plays in development under an incubator programme by Wild Rice.

These are presented as dramatised readings by actors reading early drafts in front of an audience, so playwrights can gather feedback.

As Wild Rice has chosen not to revert to the April 21 version of the script, IMDA said it has disallowed the performance in its current form.

The statement added: “Singapore’s firm stance against drugs remains unchanged, and IMDA will continue to uphold the AECC to protect national interest.”

Reporters has contacted Wild Rice for comment.

SINGAPORE - More than 200 people suspected to be scammers or money mules are assisting the police with investigations over scam cases in which victims lost more than $3.89 million.

The suspects – 70 women and 153 men aged between 15 and 89 – are believed to be involved in more than 790 cases of scams, said the police in a statement on June 19.

The cases comprise mainly friend impersonation scams, investment scams, job scams, e-commerce scams, government official impersonation scams and rental scams.

The suspects were caught during a two-week operation from June 6 to 19 conducted by officers from the Commercial Affairs Department and the seven police land divisions.

They are being investigated for the alleged offences of cheating, money laundering or providing payment services without a licence, said the police.

For the offence of cheating, those found guilty may be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.

If found guilty of money laundering, they may be jailed for up to 10 years, fined up to $500,000, or both.

​Those found guilty of providing payment services without a licence in Singapore may be jailed for up to three years, fined up to $125,000, or both.

The police advise members of the public to reject any requests by others to use their bank account or mobile lines, or they may become an accomplice to crimes and will be held accountable.

For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamshield.gov.sg or call the ScamShield Helpline on 1799.

Anyone with information on scams may call the police hotline on 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/i-witness

SINGAPORE - Two people and two firefighters were taken to hospital after a fire broke out in an HDB flat in Holland Close on the evening of June 19.

Firefighters from Alexandra Fire Station responded to the fire at Block 5 at around 7.25pm, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) in a Facebook post.

One of the bedrooms in a 23rd-floor unit was on fire, which was extinguished with two water jets. As a result of the fire, the rest of the unit also suffered heat and smoke damage.

Two people who had evacuated from the unit were assessed for smoke inhalation and taken to Singapore General Hospital (SGH).

During the firefighting operation, two firefighters experienced heat exhaustion and were also taken to hospital - one to SGH, one to the National University Hospital - in a conscious state.

Holland Drive resident Winston Ho, 50, was on his way home at around 7.20pm when he saw fire engines arriving in Holland Close.

Smoke was billowing out of the affected unit, he said, adding that police officers started to cordon off the block, as broken glass was falling to the ground.

The police also evacuated the block’s residents to a nearby futsal court, where a roll call was conducted to account for the residents.

About 100 people were evacuated from the affected block, said the SCDF.

​The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Defence Minister and Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Chan Chun Sing visited the scene to assist affected residents.

In a subsequent post on Facebook, Mr Chan said those who needed help or temporary lodgings could contact the Buona Vista Community Centre.

The male cyclist who was hit by a stray bullet while cycling in a restricted area gazetted for live-firing exercises is being investigated for wilful trespass, the police said on Wednesday (June 18) in response to media queries on the case.

The 42-year-old man was cycling with his friends in the Central Catchment Nature Reserve between Upper Seletar and Upper Pierce reservoirs on Sunday (June 15) when he suffered a gunshot wound, with a bullet slug lodged in his left lower back, at around 11.40am.

The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) was at the time conducting an authorised live-firing activity at its Nee Soon 500m range, about 2.3km from where the man was.

The area has clear signages to warn members of the public of the dangers and against entering the area.

The man was taken to the National University Hospital by his friends, where he underwent surgery to remove the bullet slug, and is in a stable condition.

Under the Military Manoeuvres Act, unauthorised individuals are not allowed to enter gazetted areas designated for SAF live-firing for their own safety.

The Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) Act defines wilful trespass as any person who deliberately trespasses on any grounds belonging to the government, areas and places designated for public purposes, houses, premises, land, boats or vessels without a satisfactory excuse.

The penalty for wilful trespass is a maximum fine of $1,000.

​SINGAPORE – A man who was found with 178 videos and 153 still images of child pornography in his possession was sentenced to a year and nine months’ jail, and two strokes of the cane on June 19.

Gan Qi Xuan, 26, had earlier downloaded such content from the Dark Web before categorising his collection on his personal electronic devices and online platforms.

Court documents did not disclose how his offence came to light, but he was nabbed in a raid at his home in August 2023.

On Aug 19, 2024, he pleaded guilty to one count of being in possession of child pornography.

In earlier proceedings, Deputy Public Prosecutor Koh Yi Wen told the court that Gan got to know about the Dark Web around 2015 and found a forum on child pornography on it.

Initially, he did not download anything during his first visit as he was wary of viruses. But curiosity got the better of him about three months later, and he downloaded such videos and images from the Dark Web, including child abuse material.

Soon after, Gan began to access the Dark Web regularly to download pornographic material, including those involving children.

He would view the videos and images he downloaded before sorting them into different folders on his laptop.

When the device ran out of storage space, he transferred all the material to his Google Drive account.

​His laptop broke down in mid-2021, and he replaced it with a central processing unit later that year.

During this time, Gan also created a cloud storage account to store his pornographic material as the platform provided more free storage space than Google Drive.

Without revealing details, defence lawyer Teo Choo Kee told the court on June 19 that Gan has lost his place in a university.

Mr Teo also said his client has stopped viewing such child abuse material by 2021 but still had files containing them in his possession when he was caught.

Gan is also extremely remorseful for what he had done, the court heard.

SINGAPORE – Two Zika cases have been confirmed in Woodlands Street 11 and Street 32, said the National Environment Agency (NEA) in conjunction with the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) in a Facebook post on June 19.

Following each case notification, NEA commenced wastewater and mosquito surveillance in the surrounding residential area.

The agency said enhanced surveillance has revealed persistent Zika virus signals, which suggest this is an area with likely Zika transmission.

The surveillance is a regular effort by the agency to minimise the spread of vector-borne diseases in Singapore.

It most often comes in the form of gravitraps that are placed in Housing Board estates to catch the urban-dwelling and day-biting Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which spread both Zika and dengue.

A check of the NEA website found that three Zika cases have been reported since the week of May 25, with the latest being confirmed on June 11.

In total, there have been seven cases reported for 2025 as at June 12.

There were 13 reported Zika cases in 2024.

Those who show symptoms suggestive of a Zika infection should see a doctor early, advised the NEA.

According to the CDA website, symptoms of Zika include rash, fever, conjunctivitis, muscle pain, joint pain and headache.

There is no specific treatment for Zika, but pregnant patients should seek advice from their obstetricians for further management, the CDA said.

Zika may result in congenital defects in infants born to infected mothers. The babies could be born with neurological complications or microcephaly, where they have a head that is smaller than expected.

To find out more about Zika cases, go to go.gov.sg/zikaclusters. The public can also visit the CDA webpage (go.gov.sg/zika) to learn about prevention and treatment options.

Reporters has reached out to NEA and the Ministry of Health for more information.

SINGAPORE – A lawyer, who has a history of speeding and drink driving, was charged on June 19 after he allegedly drank and drove again in 2024.

Steven John Lam Kuet Keng, 55, is also accused of lying to two police officers following an accident on April 7 that year after his car purportedly mounted a kerb and hit some railings.

He had allegedly claimed that an unknown person had driven the car when the accident occurred.

According to the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, Lam is a director, shareholder and secretary at Templars Law.

On June 19, he was handed one count each of drink driving and driving a car without due care and attention, resulting in the accident.

He was also charged with two counts of giving false information to a public servant.

Court documents stated that he was convicted of speeding in 1999 and drink driving in 2006.

The documents do not disclose his punishments for doing so.

For his latest case, Lam was allegedly driving a car without due care and attention on Bukit Panjang Road towards Choa Chu Kang Road at around 12.30am on April 7, 2024, when the accident occurred.

​He was allegedly found with at least 61 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath soon after.

The prescribed limit is 35 micrograms of alcohol in the same amount of breath.

Lam is accused of lying to Senior Staff Sergeant Muhammad Ridwan Abdullah in an oral statement in the vicinity of Bukit Panjang Road at around 12.50am that day.

The lawyer had allegedly claimed that he was not the driver of the car when the accident occurred.

Lam is also accused of telling a similar lie to Investigation Officer Muhammad Farhan Sairi in a statement recorded at the Traffic Police Headquarters in Ubi Avenue 3 shortly before 5am on April 7, 2024.

His case will be mentioned again in court on July 15.

For drink driving, a first-time offender can be jailed for up to a year and fined up to $10,000.

A repeat offender can be jailed for up to two years and fined up to $20,000.

For each count of giving false information to a public servant, an offender can be jailed for up to two years and fined.

One of two DNA profiles found on the body of a Singaporean woman killed in Spain in April 2024 has been linked by Spanish experts to the only suspect, a Singaporean man.

Two male DNA profiles were earlier found on Ms Audrey Fang’s body, and Spain’s National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Science found that one of them matches the paternal lineage of suspect Mitchell Ong, news outlet La Opinion de Murcia reported on June 18.

The match was for the Y-chromosome haplotype, which is a set of genetic markers passed directly from father to son.

The second DNA profile has no links with Ong’s DNA.

Ong’s lawyer Maria Jesus Ruiz de Castaneda said the findings cannot be used to identify a person conclusively, as the genetic marker is shared with all male members of Ong’s paternal lineage.

She added that the finding “reinforces the need to expand the investigation to include other possible individuals”.

“Mitchell Ong maintains his innocence, fully trusts the work of the Spanish justice system, and will continue to collaborate in all necessary to clarify the truth,” she said.

Ong, 43, was arrested in Spain in April 2024 after Ms Fang’s body was found with multiple stab wounds earlier that month in the town of Abanilla. 

Ms Fang, an architect, left Singapore on April 4 to travel alone to Xabia, in Spain’s Valencia region. She was supposed to return eight days later but became uncontactable on April 10.

​The 39-year-old died from knife wounds and head trauma.

DNA from two men was found on her clothes, La Opinion reported in March, raising the possibility that more than one person was involved in her death.

Ong, who was previously an insurance agent and a financial expert, was also found to be nominated as the sole beneficiary of Ms Fang’s Central Provident Fund savings, with the accounts reportedly containing $498,000.