ERP rates will drop by $1 at 5 locations during December school holidays; Flying out of Singapore? Prepare for higher fees: Singapore live news

Former actor and Mediacorp artiste Huang Yiliang was in court on Friday (15 Nov) over a traffic collision.

Huang, 63, was fined $3,000 and banned from driving for five years. He pleaded guilty to one count under the Road Traffic Act of causing grievous hurt by driving without reasonable consideration for other road users.

He drove his van into a cyclist while exiting a slip road and fractured the victim's elbow.

According to CNA, Huang attended to the cyclist after the accident. The cyclist suffered bruising over his right elbow, with swelling, and an abrasion.

Huang paid the fine in full.

Huang was previously sentenced to 10 months' jail in February 2021 for assaulting a Bangaldeshi worker in 2018. He was also ordered to pay the victim $3,300 in compensation.

In September 2021, his daughter, local actress Chantalle Ng, went on the meWATCH talkshow Hear U Out and candidly spoke about her time with Huang.

She told host Quan Yi Fong that a lot of the unhappiness during her childhood "stemmed from my father". Ng added: "He had a volatile temperament. I didn't know when he'd lose his temper."

Renowned homegrown singer JJ Lin is kicking off the final lap of his JJ20 World Tour in Singapore.

He will be performing for two shows on 28 Dec and 29 Dec.

The record-breaking tour started on 4 Nov 2022, at the National Stadium and spanned 77 dates in Asia, North America, Europe and Australia.

Now, he's extending it for a final leg which will see him performing in new destinations including Boston, San Francisco and Seoul.

Tickets are priced at S$358, S$298, S$238, S$198 and S$158 (excluding booking fees), and will be available for general sale from Friday (22 Nov) at 12pm via Ticketmaster.sg.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) unveiled the 2025 Year of the Snake Almanac coins on Friday (15 Nov).

These coins, the ninth issue in the Singapore Fourth Chinese Almanac Coin Series, are legal tender at face value. This means that you can redeem the coins at their face value when deposited with the banks or MAS.

The Singapore Fourth Chinese Almanac Coin Series was launched in 2017 and a new coin will be issued each year over a span of 12 years to 2028. Each year’s issue depicts a zodiac animal in a park or natural landscape setting in Singapore.

According to a press release by MAS, this year's coins feature the Snake set against the backdrop of Henderson Waves within the Southern Ridges. The front of each coin bears the Singapore Coat of Arms with the year 2025.

The coins will be available in 10 variations, comprising different face values, shapes, metallic compositions and minting relief effects.

The 2025 Year of the Snake coins are also available in premium sets.

Each coin and coin set will come with a serialised certificate of authenticity.

Pre-orders can be placed with The Singapore Mint, either from their website or by calling 6566 2626, from 15 Nov to 15 Dec 2024. MAS added, "If the coins are oversubscribed, they will be allocated by balloting."

Now, let the games begin.

For more information on the 2025 Year of the Snake Almanac coins, read here.

Im Chae-moo, 75, was a huge Korean TV star after his breakout role in the 1984 soap opera Love and Truth.

He was making nearly US$100,000 (S$134,000) a month then when apartments in Seoul would sell for a few thousand dollars each.

Im decided to fulfil his dream of creating a place where families could come together and enjoy themselves – a dream that was inspired by a depressing sight he saw before he became famous.

Thus, the amusement park Doori Land was born in 1990.

Admission to the park was free for years, but a string of disasters and bad luck brought him into financial ruin.

According to his estimate, the park has wiped out close to $15 million of his career earnings left him $7 million in debt.

To read more about his fall from grace, read here.

Unless you've really been living under a rock, chances are you'd have seen a furry (frankly, kind of ugly) doll with serrated teeth hanging off people's bags or taking over your social media feed.

Perhaps, you might even know it better by its name – Labubu.

These dolls, sold by Chinese toymaker Pop Mart, have taken the world by storm and fly off the shelves in Singapore usually within an hour after it's restocked.

According to Insider, the dolls go for about US$85 (S$114), but a quick check on the Singapore Pop Mart site shows that the various Labubu products can start from as low as $15.90 and go up as high as $1,499.90.

Needless to say, they're sold out.

But what makes these dolls so popular?

Retail analysts attribute the skyrocketing demand to Blackpink's Lisa who posted about the toy on her Instagram in April.

To know more about Labubu's meteoric rise to popularity and how much collectors in Singapore have spent, read here.

Passengers flying from Singapore will see higher air fares as Changi Airport is increasing its airport charges.

Airport charges will be increased progressively between 2025 and 2030.

For passengers flying out of Singapore, the passenger service and security fee (PSSF) will remain unchanged for two years, but on 1 April 2027, the fee will increase by $3 annually for four years.

The current PSSF is $46.40, but by 2031, it will be around $58.40.

Transfer/transit passengers will also see an increase in their PSSF. They currently pay $6, which has been unchanged since 2015. From 1 April 2025, the fee will increase by $3 for three year, and by $1 for three years after that.

The PSSF will be $18 by 2031.

The increase is to help fund a $3 billion investment for airport improvements that will be implemented over the next six years. The airport aims to improve baggage handling, check-in, immigration and their shuttle train connections between terminals at all four of their terminals.

For more on the increase in airport charges and the planned improvements, read here.

The Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) rates will drop by $1 at five locations in the morning during the December school holidays, said the Land Transport Authority on Thursday (14 Nov).

The five locations are:

• Ayer Rajah Expressway (before Alexandra towards city)

• Ayer Rajah Expressway (after Jurong Town Hall towards city)

• Southbound Central Expressway (before Braddell Road)

• Pan-Island Expressway (Adam and Mount Pleasant)

• Westbound Pan-Island Expressway (before Eunos Link)

The revised rates will apply to several time periods between 7am and 9.30am.

The revised rates will only apply from 18 Nov to 31 Dec, and will revert to pre-school holiday charges from 2 Jan, 2025.