Singaporeans in South Korea advised to carry on as planned after martial law reversal; Death of woman in Dover flat classified as murder: Singapore live news

Malaysia and Singapore have pushed the formal signing of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Johor to January.

The signing was initially due to take place next week in Malaysia at an annual leadership meeting with Singapore.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim revealed on Wednesday (4 December) he was asked to postpone the meeting until January after Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong contracted COVID-19. “He does not want to pass the infection to me and my wife,” Anwar was quoted as saying.

The two countries inked a deal in January to create the SEZ which would offer tax breaks, streamlined travel, and even passport-free movement using QR codes and digital customs.

However, the signing to formalise the SEZ has now been postponed twice.

Tan Howe Liang – Singapore’s first Olympic medallist – died on Tuesday (3 December) at the age of 91.

The legendary weightlifter won a silver medal at the 1960 Rome Games – a feat that would not be matched by a Singapore athlete for 48 years until table tennis stars Feng Tianwei, Li Jiawei and Wang Yuegu brought home a silver from the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

The Singapore National Olympic Council, in a fitting tribute to one of Singapore’s true greats, described Tan as a “sportsman born ahead of his time” with a hunger to chase sporting glory when economic progress was the dominant mindset of the day.

“The lacklustre attitude towards sports did not deter his quest for success – Tan swept everything in his path, winning medals at the South-east Asian Peninsular (SEAP) Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, and Olympics,” wrote SNOC in their obituary for Tan.

Tan was born in the southern Chinese city of Swatow in 1933 and moved to Singapore with his family when he was four. He was the third of seven children and was left in the care of his granduncle and grandaunt when he was just 14 following the death of his father.

It was just before his father’s passing when Tan vowed that he would be one of the strongest men in the world.

A pair of monkeys entered the departure hall at Changi Airport Terminal 2 yesterday (3 December).

Did they have a flight to catch or were they filming a scene for the ‘Planet of the Apes’ movie series?

The pair of macaques were there at around 2pm and unsurprisingly quickly became the centre of attention, based on multiple videos of the incident circulating online.

Monkeys could be seen climbing the railings of a staircase while another video showed a lone macaque being shooed away from the check-in counters by a man with a broom – it was not a typical Tuesday at Terminal 2.

And there was also a video showing a lady, who appears to work in Changi Airport, pointing and guiding a macaque like a lost tourist towards the correct exit.

However, if you ever do find yourself in a situation where a macaque approaches you in the open, NParks advises you to remain calm and quiet and do not make any sudden movements or maintain eye contact with them.

There will be no train service on the East-West Line (EWL) between Tanah Merah and Tampines stations from 7-10 December (Saturday-Tuesday) due to a series of works.

The extended work is to facilitate the connection of tracks from the existing EWL to the new East Coast Integrated Depot (ECID) which is being prepared for its 2016 opening.

Shuttle trains will be operating for commuters travelling between Tampines and Pasir Ris stations (every 5 minutes), Tanah Merah and Expo stations (every 8 minutes), and Expo and Changi Airport stations (every 11 minutes).

Alternate trains heading towards Tanah Merah station will end their service at Paya Lebar station during the morning and evening peak hours on 9-10 December (Monday-Tuesday) in a bid to maintain peak hour frequency. “Commuters are advised to refer to platform display panels for information on the station where the train will end at,” said LTA and SMRT in a joint-media release.

"For commuters travelling to and from Simei station, a shuttle bus service, Shuttle 7, will operate between Tampines, Simei and Tanah Merah stations at a frequency of 3 to 5 minutes, from first train to last train" added LTA and SMRT.

More information on the planned works and disruption on East-West Line (EWL), here.

You can also follow LTA’s MyTransport.SG mobile app as well as LTA’s and SMRT’s social media platforms for updates

Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong is ‘working from home’ after testing positive for COVID-19.

PM Wong revealed the news with a Facebook post on Tuesday evening (3 December): “Woke up this morning with a bad sore throat. This comes after the recent stretch of overseas work trips.”

“Initially I thought it might just be a normal flu bug. But I just took a test to be sure. Turns out, I’ve finally succumbed to COVID after all these years!”

This is the first time that PM Wong, who was a co-chairman of the task-force assembled to manage the pandemic, has caught COVID-19.

In his post he shared that he is “feeling fine overall and will self-isolate while working from home.”

He added: “If you’re feeling unwell, wear a mask and take the necessary precautions to protect yourself and those around you. Stay safe, and happy holidays to all!”

The death of a 30-year-old woman in a flat on Dover Road on Monday (2 December) has been classified as murder.

Singapore police (SPF) are seeking assistance from authorities overseas to locate a 34-year-old man connected to the death, according to multiple reports.

The man had left Singapore before the SPF had been alerted to the crime at around 5.10pm on 2 December. The woman was found lying motionless in the flat and was later pronounced dead at the scene.

Both the man and woman reportedly knew each other.

Investigations are ongoing.