The police shot a wild boar that had gone on a rampage in Punggol last night (Nov 21).

Stomp contributor JY was travelling in a car along Sengkang East Road when she noticed a barricade had been set up by the police.

She looked out of the car and saw the wild boar in front of an officer.

"Its position looked like it was about to attack or lunge forward," she said.

Soon after, she heard a gunshot and saw the boar fall to the ground.

"The police then quickly moved to clear the area around the boar," said the Stomp contributor. "They did a good job in clearing the path for motorists quickly."

In a statement, the police said that they were alerted to an accident involving a wild boar and a car on Punggol West Flyover.

The injured wild boar was lying on the road when police officers and ACRES personnel arrived at the location.

The wild boar got up and charged towards the officers and passers-by in the area.

It continued to charge forwards even after officers fired their Tasers at the boar.

"As the wild boar was rampaging and was a danger to the people in the vicinity, an officer had to draw his revolver to fire a shoat at it, to stop it from injuring anyone," said the police.

The tusked boar, which measured 1.5m from head to tail, was shot in the neck.

It was subsequently handed over to ACRES personnel who had to put it to sleep due to its injuries.

No one was injured in the incident.

The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) posted a statement on Facebook saying that it will monitor the situation at the Punggol area closely.

It added that it will continue to work with relevant stakeholders, such as Acres, Wildlife Reserves Singapore, NParks, and the National University of Singapore (NUS), to manage the wild boars to ensure public safety.

"We are exploring various measures such as erecting barriers to prevent wildlife from encroaching onto roads, and putting up signages about wildlife crossings at specific locations to warn motorists," it wrote.

The public can call AVA at 1800-476-1600 to report wild boar sightings.

A popular concept cafe from Japan is here in Singapore. Hint: you'll get to dine with lots of yellow, small and cylindrical characters.

Yes, you guessed right, The Minions have finally invaded our little red dot.

Operated as "The Despicable Me 3 Cafe" in Japan at five "THE GUEST cafe&diner" outlets from July to September this year, the cafe will be having its very first concept pop-up outside of Japan.

Reincarnated as the MINIONS CAFE, it will be located at Orchard Central. From Nov 23, 2017 to Jan 31, 2018, fans of the Illumination and Universal movie, "Despicable Me 3", can head there for delectable themed food and drinks.

Inspired by the characters and stories from "Despicable Me 3", the 14 items on the menu include S'mores and Minion's Ice Cream and Up-side-down Minion Jelly Soda Drink. Sounds yummy already!

If you're not much of a foodie, MINIONS CAFE Original Goods and other official "Despicable Me 3" merchandises are available for purchase too.

Before it officially opens on Nov 23 to the public, we will be checking it out. So stay tuned for updates!

Where: Orchard Central Level 3

When: Nov 23 2017 to Jan 31 2018

Info: THE GUEST cafe&diner

This article was first published on Her World Online

SINGAPORE - Singapore is hoping to deploy autonomous buses on public roads in three different districts of the city-state from 2022 to provide better connectivity, the Ministry of Transport said in a statement on Wednesday.

Countries around the world are encouraging the development of self-driving technologies.

High-density Singapore, which has manpower shortages in many sectors, is at the forefront of such efforts and is hoping to prompt its residents to use more shared vehicles and public transport.

There are at least 10 companies testing their autonomous technology on the island.

Autonomous scheduled bus services will complement human-driven public buses, and will initially travel on less crowded roads, according to the statement.

Autonomous on-demand shuttles will allow commuters to hail the services via their mobile phones.

The government said it was seeking inputs from the industry and research institutions on the key requirements for the successful pilot launch of these autonomous vehicles.

oBike has filed a police report after a couple was caught on camera dumping their bikes into a drain in a video on Stomp.

The video which was sent in by Stomp contributor Chin, was posted on Stomp on Nov 20 where it went viral, garnering over 50,000 views on Facebook and sparking outcry from netizens who condemned the couple's behaviour.

The video was also later posted to other Facebook pages such as ROADS.sg and reported by other publications such as The Straits Times.

Mr Edward Chen, co-founder and chief marketing officer of oBike, told The Straits Times that oBike is "aware of the video that is currently circulating online and can verify that the bicycles in the video belong to us".

"It is evident that the perpetrators have damaged our bikes maliciously and we strongly condemn their behaviour," he said.

"Our operations teams are working closely with the police to identify those responsible."

oBike added that it has since filed a police report.

The bike sharing operator has lodged a total five police reports of its bikes being abused and vandalised since its launch in April this year.

Police investigations are ongoing.

A man who was using his phone while feeding his daughter failed to notice her choking on the milk.

The father, Mohamed Shiddiq Sazali, 28, was sentenced to 6 months' jail on Monday (Nov 20) for causing his daughter's death.

The incident happened at a unit in Block 4, Telok Blangah Crescent on Oct 12, 2015.

Five weeks before the incident, the baby, Reyhana Qailah Mohamad Shiddiq had just been discharged from a hospital where she was treated for a broken skull --- after her father accidentally dropped her.

Shiddiq was also given a concurrent sentence of three months' jail for causing grievous hurt to his daughter through a negligent act, endangering her personal safety.

During the trial, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Stephanie Koh said that Shiddiq had displayed a high degree of negligence which caused the death of his 3½-month-old daughter.

DPP Koh said that Shiddiq clearly prioritised his mobile phone game over the welfare of his daughter.

Court documents revealed that he had been playing the game before the mother of the child, Ms Nurraishah Mahzan, 32, entrusted the baby to him before leaving the house.

Shiddiq placed the child on his lap and used one hand to play his game, while the other to hold the bottle to the baby's mouth.

DPP Koh added:

"While this in itself falls short of the appropriate level of care, it is further aggravated by the fact that the accused was not even looking at the deceased as he fed her.

"He was looking at his phone, on the left side of the bed, while he held the deceased on his right side."

She added that Shiddiq showed a blatant disregard for the child's safety, ignoring her signs of distress.

The baby was fighting and rejecting the milk bottle, but Shiddiq continued to hold the bottle to her mouth.

She continued thrashing around for two minutes before she apparently choked on the milk.

A forensic pathologist said that the milk bottle in the baby's mouth could have resulted in the blockage of her upper airway, and introduced an element of 'mechanical asphyxia'', which led to her death.

He also stated that the incident was 'entirely avoidable', reported The Straits Times.

DPP Koh also said: "The accused showed a general irresponsible and lax attitude towards his caregiving duties."

For causing death by negligence, Shiddiq could have faced up to two years in jail and/or fined up to $5,000.

Shiddiq had also been sentenced to reformative training for insulting of modesty and rioting, back in 2008.

A 26-year-old Mercedes driver who had drunk at least half a bottle of cognac drove against traffic after spotting a police road block ahead.

The driver, Lam Chen Wee, reversed his Mercedes CLA 200 and drove against oncoming traffic for nearly 300m in the early hours of Jan 26, 2017, reports The Straits Times.

Lam, now 27, was sentenced to four weeks jail, banned from driving for three years, and fined $2,700.

He had pleaded guilty to one count each of dangerous driving, drink driving, failing to stop when ordered by a police officer, and leaving a vehicle in a manner likely to endanger others.

The court heard that Lam had slowed down and reversed his car after seeing the roadblock.

He was ferrying three passengers at the time of the incident.

One of Lam's friend who was in the backseat asked him to move forward, but Lam continued reversing about 140m along the slip road from the Central Expressway (CTE) into Upper Serangoon Road.

During the process, a rear tyre mounted the kerb along the road divider, but Lam continued reversing.

Several vehicles had to swerve to avoid hitting Lam's Mercedes.

After stopping at the chevron markings separating CTE and PIE, Lam switched off his headlights as he did not want to draw attention to his vehicle.

After that, Lam reversed again into the slip road of CTE into Upper Serangoon Road, stopping after a left bend on a dimly lit slip road, which posed a danger to other motorists.

Two minutes later, Lam started driving towards the chevron.

His headlights were still off when he made an illegal U-turn and drove against traffic for about 100m along Jalan Toa Payoh.

He stopped at a bus bay for a while and waited for traffic to clear and continued driving against the traffic flow further into PIE towards Changi Airport.

Along the way, four vehicles including two taxis which flashed their high beams at him, had to slow down to allow Lam to pass through.

He reversed again into the bus bay and waited for the four vehicles to pass by.

Lam accelerated against the flow of traffic for 31m and made an abrupt illegal U-turn, cutting across the chevron to join the normal flow of traffic of PIE towards Changi Airport.

A Traffic Police (TP) officer subsequently stopped Lam along the PIE 13-km mark, where the latter was subjected to a breathalyser test.

Lam failed the test and was taken back to the Jurong Police Division for a further test.

He had 38 microgrammes (mcg) of alcohol per 100 ml of breath surpassing the prescribed limit of 35mcg.

In order to accelerate re-signalling works and improve reliability of the North-South and East-West Lines (NSEWL), 17 East West Line (EWL) MRT stations and two North-South Line (NSL) MRT stations will close earlier on Fridays and Saturdays, and open later on Saturdays and Sundays between 8 December to 31 December.

According to a statement by SMRT, the 17 EWL MRT stations are from Tiong Bahru to Tuas Link stations, while the NSL MRT stations are Bukit Batok and Bukit Gombak stations.

SHORTER OPERATING HOURS

Train services on the 17 EWL MRT stations and two NSL MRT stations will end at 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Services will also start later (at 8am) on Saturdays and Sundays.

FULL DAY CLOSURE

Apart from the shorter operating hours, there will be two full Sunday closures on the 19 stations - from Tiong Bahru to Tuas Link on the EWL, and Bukit Batok and Bukit Gombak stations on the NSL - on 10 December and 17 December.

PARALLEL SHUTTLE BUS SERVICES PROVIDED

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To minimise inconvenience to commuters parallel shuttle buses will be provided along affected MRT stations during affected hours with fares for shuttle bus services following the rail fare structure.

Commuters can also continue their travel on alternative rail lines such as the Circle Line and Downtown Line.

During this period, station staff will be deployed to assist and guide commuters. More details on the first and last train timings at affected stations will be provided by SMRT over the next few days.

SUSPENDED TRAIN SERVICES BETWEEN JOO KOON AND GUL CIRCLE

Additionally, The Straits Times reported that train services have been suspended between Joo Koon and Gul Circle stations til mid-2018. During this period, commuters will have to take a free shuttle bus between the stations in order to continue their journey. Fares will be charged as if they have taken a train straight through.

The Straits Times also pointed out that there will be disruption to services will happen at other stations along the NSL and EWL in the first half of next year, with more details revealed closer to the dates.

This article was first published in Human Resources.

Following rumours that Malaysian durians contain insecticide, the Agri Food and Veteniary Authority (AVA) has issued a statement saying that the durians here in Singapore are safe for consumption.

The rumour, which was started by a Facebook page called 'Our Singapore', claimed that China rejected all the Musang durians due to high levels of insecticide detected in the fruit.

AVA's statement which was posted on their Facebook page on Nov 21 assured Singaporeans that it is safe to eat durians that are imported from Malaysia.

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Malaysian govt to study aphrodisiac claims of durians

"Some durian lovers have come across rumours about high levels of "insecticide" in Malaysia's Musang King durians, and asked if it is safe to consume durians imported from Malaysia."

AVA says that it conducts stringent checks and regularly conducts inspections and sampling of imported fruits, including durians, so that they comply with the food safety standard and requirements.

Samples are tested for the prescience of pesticide residue and nitrobacteria contamination.

"Imported fruits that fail our inspection and food safety tests will not be allowed for sale," wrote AVA.

A taxi was caught on camera reversing into a stationary car at a traffic light -- but what happened next left netizens wondering if there was more than meets the eye.

According to a timestamp on a video posted on ROADS.sg, the incident took place on Nov 17 at around 7.34pm.

However, it is unclear where exactly it occurred.

In the video, the taxi with licence plate number SHD3088L can be seen inexplicably reversing into another car that had stopped behind it.

A caption accompanying the ROADS.sg video said: "SHD3088L [has] no good reason to reverse and knock into cam car at a traffic light. Passengers of this taxi came out to defend driver and demanded lady driver for compensation."

Many netizens felt that there were suspicious signs, such as the passengers' over-enthusiasm in seeking 'justice' for the cabby:

Many also urged the car driver to lodge a police report and said it was a good thing there was a dashboard camera that recorded the whole event.

Transport operator ComfortDelGro has responded to a Stomp query about an incident where a taxi driver was caught on camera reversing into a stationary car at a traffic light.

It was earlier reported that the incident took place on Nov 17 at around 7.34pm.

A video posted on ROADS.sg shows how the taxi reversed into the car, leading two of the taxi's passengers and the car's female driver to exit their vehicles.

A caption accompanying the video also alleged: "SHD3088L [has] no good reason to reverse and knock into cam car at a traffic light. Passengers of this taxi came out to defend driver and demanded lady driver for compensation."

In response to media queries by Stomp, ComfortDelgro said that it launched an immediate investigation upon learning about the incident.

Ms Tammy Tan, ComfortDelGro's group corporate communications officer, told Stomp in a statement: "Deliberate acts of mischief are not tolerated and we are always prepared to take stern action against such culprits.

"In this case, we learnt, and verified, that the cabby, who was with his family at that moment, had just been told that a close family member was terminally ill.

"His mother, who was in the car with him, was very distraught and when the taxi pulled up at the traffic junction, our cabby reached over to console his mother, thinking that he had engaged the gear into the brake position.

"He hadn't and as he leaned over, the taxi started sliding backwards slowly. In his distress, he did not notice that this was happening until the cab reversed into the car behind.

"When it did, he immediately stopped the cab and got out to check on the occupants of the other vehicle. Thankfully, no one was injured.

"Our cabby is deeply apologetic about the incident and has assured us that he will not drive when he is not in the right frame of mind.

"Separately, we would like to convey our deepest apologies to the vehicle owner for the distress that this incident had caused her. If she can get in touch with us, we would like to enquire on her well-being."

Four bikers were seen lining up in a row to exit the gantry of a carpark together.

Stomp contributor Edwin alerted us to the video which was posted on the Singapore Taxi Driver Facebook group on Nov 21.

The video shows four motorcyclists lining up in a row at the gantry of a carpark. All four motorcyclists then proceeded to exit the carpark when the gantry was raised.

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It is unclear where and when this happened.

Many netizens were amused by the video, leaving comments such as these on the post:

While this is an ingenious way to save on parking fees, we certainly wouldn't recommend it. Evading parking fees is an offence that will result in a fine if caught.

A stray cat was found with two cable ties wrapped around its front and back leg at Jurong West Blossom yesterday (Nov 23).

Facebook user Sal Bi, a primary school teacher, shared how she and a colleague had found the cat "screaming in distress" at the foot of Block 698A, Jurong West Central 3, at around 6pm when they were on their way home.

Sal Bi said in her post: "I ran up[stairs] to take two pairs of scissors. As Rashal was calming him down, a male passerby helped to ease the situation."

A video she posted shows how one woman held the cat -- who was mewing repeatedly -- down while the other used a scissors to remove the cable ties from its legs.

"With his help, we managed to set the cat free after assessing his well-being. He ran off after being freed," added Sal Bi.

According to The Straits Times, the teachers did not make a police report nor a report to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA).

Executive director of the Cat Welfare Society (CWS), Laura Ann Meranda said the organisation is looking into the matter and has informed AVA about it.

"Our community cats depend on the vigilance of the people around them to save them from danger," she told ST.

"We thank these residents for their quick action and reporting to authorities. We hope investigations will bring these vulnerable cats justice."

Starting this December, Marina Bay will transform into Singapore's largest carnival ground.

The Prudential Marina Bay Carnival, spanning 25,000 square metres of the city centre, will feature over 40 thrilling rides and games. These include tower ride The Star Flyer which offers a 360-degree view of the city skyline, and The Booster Maxx which rotates at a maximum speed of 96kmh at 55 metres above ground.

Family-friendly rides include the Log Flume with gentle turns and a big splash at the end and the Apple Coaster where the little ones can buckle up and get their first taste of a rollercoaster ride.

How can a carnival be held without adorable plushies? There are 1,200,000 up for grabs from over 30 carnival stalls, the organisers said.

Onstage, home-grown musicians such as pop punk artiste Falling Feathers, petite powerhouse Kexin Tay, hip-hop rapper TheLionCityBoy, and rising star Jasmine Sokko will entertain the crowd with live performances.

Each week, more than 20 food vendors will be dishing out fairground favourites (curly fries, sausages, churros and popcorn), gourmet burgers and hotdogs, an array of yummy Japanese treats, as well as local dishes such as Cendol soft serve and Lemongrass chicken rice bowls.

From Dec 8, 2017 to April 1, 2018, the Prudential Marina Bay Carnival will open daily from 4pm to 11pm. Admission is free. Credits for rides and games can be purchased on-site and via http://marinabaycarnival.sg.

minlee@sph.com.sg