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Straits Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Three hair salons raided in clamp down on touting, vice and drugs in Geylang and Joo Chiat
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The police had raided three salons in Geylang on June 27. SINGAPORE - Hair salons and public entertainment outlets in Geylang and Joo Chiat were targeted in recent enforcement operations that saw 20 people arrested and six others being investigated. The police had raided three salons in Geylang on June 27. At one outlet, plainclothes officers caught women offering unlicensed massage services. There were four men receiving such services in this salon during the raid - the first operation at such outlets that the media has been allowed to observe. The men sat on massage beds at the back of the shop while police questioned the women. Although they were allowed to leave, the men stayed behind, hoping to get a refund. Based on identity checks, several of the women appeared to be Singapore permanent residents. Shops like this often present a typical salon setup at the front, while the back contains massage stations with beds separated by thin dividers. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 3 out of 4 in Singapore cannot identify deepfake content: Cyber Security Agency survey Singapore Ong Beng Seng's court hearing rescheduled one day before he was expected to plead guilty Singapore New $7.5m fund to encourage social service agencies to track impact of their programmes Singapore GrabCab, Singapore's newest taxi operator, hits the roads with over 40 cabs to be rolled out in July Life Star Awards 2025: Xiang Yun and Chen Hanwei are the most decorated actors in show's 30-year history World Paramount settles with Trump over '60 Minutes' Harris interview for $20 million Asia Dalai Lama says he will have successor after his death Business Cathay Cineplexes gets demand for $3.4 million in arrears from Jem landlord The shop where the media observed the police raid had four massage beds, six hair washing beds, and two foot massage recliners. At least seven women were working there at the time. The Straits Times had visited this same shop in 2024, as part of reporting for an article on how hair salons in Geylang were suspected to be fronts for vice , exploiting a gap in existing regulations. Under the massage establishment licensing regime, at least 80 per cent of employees at massage parlours and spas must be certified in beauty therapy services. Under the massage establishment licensing regime, at least 80 per cent of employees at massage parlours and spas must be certified in beauty therapy services. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO Some vice operators have tried to sidestep these rules by branding their outlets as beauty, and hair salons. Following ST's report in December 2024, the hair salon operator had posted on TikTok offering a $20,000 reward to anyone who could find illegal activity inside their shop. The salon, along with the two others found to be providing massage services beyond stipulated operating hours, are now being investigated for offences under the Massage Establishments Act. The police also raided public entertainment outlets in Geylang and Joo Chiat on June 20 and 27 to clamp down on activities like touting, vice and drug-related activities. A total of 12 women, aged between 32 and 50, were arrested for working without valid work passes. On June 27, the media was also brought to a KTV lounge in Geylang where 10 women were arrested. All were Chinese nationals. Customers continued partying even as the police raid unfolded. The police said one of the outlets in Geylang had fire safety violations such as obstructions to emergency escape routes. As part of the wider enforcement operations, the Traffic Police conducted anti-drink driving checks in the area. Seven motorists, aged between 24 and 55, were arrested for drink driving, including a 26-year-old man who did not have a valid driving licence. More people were caught drink driving with 1,778 such arrests in 2024, up 6.9 per cent from 2023. Drink driving-related accidents dropped from 180 to 166 cases in the same time period, but the number of fatal accidents linked to drink driving increased from 11 cases in 2023 to 12 in 2024. During the enforcement operation, a 48-year-old male motorcyclist was arrested for suspected drug-related offences. He had duty-unpaid cigarettes and e-vaporisers in his possession. Those convicted of running a business providing unlicensed massages can be jailed for up to two years and fined up to $10,000. Repeat offenders can be jailed for up to five years and fined up to $20,000. Those convicted of working without a valid work pass can be jailed for up to two years and fined up to $20,000.
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Jurassic World Rebirth review: 3/5 stars- Johansson and Ali elevate a familiar franchise
Jurassic World Rebirth (PG13) 133 minutes, now showing ★★★☆☆ The story: Five years after the events of Jurassic World Dominion (2022), dinosaurs are extinct everywhere except for a narrow band around the tropics, because the zone most closely resembles the prehistoric Earth in which they once flourished. Mercenary Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) leads a team that includes fellow ex-soldier Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali) and palaeontologist Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey). They have been hired to raid an island to collect biological samples from three of the largest dinosaurs. Their mission is interrupted by a distress call from a family, whose sailboat has strayed too close to the danger zone. If the synopsis sounds familiar, that is because it was meant to be – the seventh movie in the franchise is a deliberate return to roots. And this is a welcome return, not because Jurassic World Rebirth itself is good – as nostalgia trips go, it is merely okay. But it was time for the series to shed its bloat. In the fourth to sixth films (Jurassic World, 2015; Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, 2018; Jurassic World Dominion), dinosaurs were normalised as theme-park attractions before becoming widespread all over the world. The creatures were sometimes the danger, but other times, an evil corporation was the baddie. The stories became a sprawling, loosely-connected set of adventures fronted by an action hero, Chris Pratt's velociraptor trainer Owen Grady, a character written to be generically likeable and therefore instantly forgettable. Rebirth reins it all in. The reptilians are now confined to one place because of 'science'. This set-up allows director Gareth Edwards to set up a heist movie - get in, get the goods, get out alive - with a focus on a single group. This he does extremely well, as he showed in previous character-driven action pieces that include the rebooted Godzilla (2014) and space fantasy Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016). Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 3 out of 4 in Singapore cannot identify deepfake content: Cyber Security Agency survey Singapore New $7.5m fund to encourage social service agencies to track impact of their programmes Singapore GrabCab, Singapore's newest taxi operator, hits the roads with over 40 cabs to be rolled out in July Life Star Awards 2025: Xiang Yun and Chen Hanwei are the most decorated actors in show's 30-year history World Paramount settles with Trump over '60 Minutes' Harris interview for $20 million Asia Dalai Lama says he will have successor after his death Business Cathay Cineplexes gets demand for $3.4 million in arrears from Jem landlord Singapore Man charged over allegedly receiving scam proceeds of more than $1.5m in his firm's bank accounts Where it all falls apart lies in the film's role as a corporate product that must have sequel potential. This means that main characters wear plot armour that protects them from death or serious injury – this reduces the emotional stakes considerably. Supporting characters with an instantly recognisable feature – an accent, or exaggerated machismo or a distinct headband - are marked for a gruesome death, a fact that becomes as clear as a face tattoo the moment they appear. The monster attack scenes are tension-filled, but weakened considerably by questionable computer graphics and character choices that make no sense, with exhibit No. 1 being the fact that someone would take a tiny sailboat anywhere within a thousand kilometres of a dinosaur island. As the covert operative who is the perfect yin-yang combination of toughness and empathy, Zora is made believable only by Johansson's abilities as an actress. Double Oscar winner Ali is also outstanding as her equally capable teammate; only an actor of his calibre can believably deliver dialogue about grief and heartbreak in one scene, then fight plane-sized raptors in the next. If Rebirth does well at the box office – and there is no reason to think that it would not – viewers are set for at least two more films featuring Johansson and Ali, with Edwards directing. It would be hard to think of three people more capable of carrying the franchise. Hot take: A competently crafted but predictably safe return to form that succeeds mainly through stellar performances, rather than genuine storytelling innovation.
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Straits Times
Two dead in Spain fire as heatwave scorches Europe
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Many places in Spain are experiencing temperatures exceeding 40 deg C. BARCELONA - Firefighters in Spain have said they found two bodies after a blaze in the north-east of the country, which is in the midst of a brutal heatwave. The heatwave across Europe this week broke high temperature records, caused the closure of schools and increased the risk of fire. Authorities in Spain's Catalonia region confined about 14,000 people to their homes on July 1 due to two wildfires that broke out almost simultaneously in the province of Lerida. In one of the blazes, near the city of Cosco, 'two people were found lifeless by firefighters', the fire and emergency service said in a statement. The exact cause of the fire was unclear, but the service said the recent heat, dry conditions and strong winds caused by storms had increased the intensity of the flames. Catalonia Regional President Salvador Illa said he was 'dismayed after learning of the death of two people as a result of the fire', in a post on X. Hours earlier, police in the region had reported the death of a two-year-old boy after he was left in a parked car in the sun for several hours. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 3 out of 4 in Singapore cannot identify deepfake content: Cyber Security Agency survey Singapore New $7.5m fund to encourage social service agencies to track impact of their programmes Singapore GrabCab, Singapore's newest taxi operator, hits the roads with over 40 cabs to be rolled out in July Life Star Awards 2025: Xiang Yun and Chen Hanwei are the most decorated actors in show's 30-year history World Paramount settles with Trump over '60 Minutes' Harris interview for $20 million Asia Dalai Lama says he will have successor after his death Business Cathay Cineplexes gets demand for $3.4 million in arrears from Jem landlord Singapore Man charged over allegedly receiving scam proceeds of more than $1.5m in his firm's bank accounts Spain is in the midst of an intense heatwave, with temperatures exceeding 40 deg C in many places and several heat records set for the month of June. One person died in the southern city of Cordoba and another in Barcelona, both while doing road work on June 28, and likely victims of heatstroke. According to scientists, extreme weather events, such as heatwaves and storms, are becoming more intense due to man-made climate change. Tens of thousands of people have died in Europe during past heatwaves, prompting authorities to issue warnings for the old and young, the sick, and others vulnerable to what experts call a 'silent killer'. AFP
