Two flights operated by Singapore Airlines and its budget carrier Scoot encountered turbulence in June last year, leaving a total of eight crew members injured, two of them seriously. The Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB) of Singapore released final investigation reports for both incidents in June this year.

SIA flight: Flying too close to convective clouds

The incident involving Singapore Airlines occurred on 27 June last year. An Airbus A350-900, en route from Changi Airport to Shanghai Pudong International Airport, was descending for landing after about four and a half hours of flight. Weather radar showed moderate to heavy rain ahead, but the pilots visually identified what appeared to be a clear gap between two convective cells. However, this gap was only about 20 nautical miles wide, leaving the aircraft about 10 nautical miles from each cell – falling short of the flight training manual’s recommendation to maintain at least 20 nautical miles from the “greatest threat area.”

After entering the cloud layer, the pilots lost visual reference and had to rely solely on weather radar. When they emerged from the clouds, the aircraft was already dangerously close to a towering cumulonimbus cloud on its left side. The captain immediately requested a change of heading, but about five seconds later, the aircraft encountered severe turbulence at 27,500 feet. Over roughly ten seconds, gravitational forces fluctuated violently between -0.02G and 2.63G. Several crew members were thrown off their feet, with six sustaining injuries – one of them suffered a fractured left ankle. None of the 171 passengers on board were hurt.

Scoot flight: Turbulence struck without warning

The incident involving Scoot occurred on 10 June last year. A Boeing 787-10, flying from Changi Airport to Guangzhou, was cruising at 39,000 feet when its airspeed began to rise steadily. The pilots assessed the weather ahead as suitable for overflight, but the aircraft suddenly hit severe turbulence lasting about 32 seconds. Two cabin crew members who were working at the time could not return to their seats in time and were thrown off their feet, with one suffering serious injuries. None of the 313 passengers on board were injured.

Findings and safety improvements

The investigations concluded that both incidents were linked to the aircraft flying near convective clouds, underscoring that turbulence can strike without warning even when weather radar does not indicate severe conditions. The TSIB recommended that flight crews adopt a more conservative approach in complex weather situations, and call for cabin crew to suspend service and be seated with seat belts fastened at the earliest sign of potential risk.

Following the incidents, Singapore Airlines has revised its cabin safety procedures, encouraged pilots to adopt more conservative flight strategies, and introduced additional weather-monitoring tools to better assess turbulence conditions. Scoot has stepped up turbulence-response training for both pilots and cabin crew, and reminded pilots to use rapid flashing of seat belt signs and other means to alert crew to take their seats as quickly as possible in an emergency. As both airlines have already implemented the recommended safety measures, the TSIB did not issue further safety proposals.

Singapore police have seized a luxury bungalow worth S$55 million (approximately US$42.4 million) and frozen about S$1 million in bank accounts as part of an investigation into a major fraud case involving the illegal transshipment of NVIDIA artificial intelligence chips.

The seized property, located at 12 Chee Hoon Avenue in an upscale residential enclave near the Singapore Botanic Gardens, falls under the Good Class Bungalow category. A prohibition of disposal order has been issued against the property, preventing any sale or transfer while investigations are ongoing. According to police, at least two-thirds of the purchase price—about S$38 million—was derived from criminal proceeds linked to the smuggling of NVIDIA chips.

The central figure in the case is Alan Wei Zhaolun, chief executive officer of technology firm Aperia Group. Since February 2025, Wei and three other individuals, along with four Singapore-registered companies, have been charged in court. The other accused include Aaron Woon Guo Jie, sales director of Aperia Group; Jenny Lim, chief financial officer; and Li Ming, a Chinese national. The four companies involved are Aperia International, A-Speed Infotech, Aperia Cloud Services, and Luxuriate Your Life.

Investigations reveal that between November 2023 and February 2025, Wei and his associates allegedly made false representations to three major server suppliers—Dell, Super Micro Computer, and Asus—by claiming that Aperia Group’s companies were the end-users of the servers. This allowed them to procure high-end servers containing advanced NVIDIA AI chips, which were subsequently transshipped to Malaysia and other destinations. The final whereabouts of the chips remain unknown.

NVIDIA’s high-end AI chips have been subject to U.S. export controls since 2022, with Washington concerned that the technology could be used for Chinese military applications. The U.S. Department of Justice had previously identified Singapore as a transit hub for smuggling NVIDIA chips into China.

Under Singapore law, if convicted of fraud, each of the four accused faces a maximum penalty of up to 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine. If convicted of money laundering, they face up to 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to S$500,000. The companies involved are also liable for fines if found guilty.

The Singapore Police Force stated that it adopts a “zero-tolerance” stance towards such criminal activities and is committed to safeguarding Singapore’s reputation as a trusted global business hub. The case is currently before the courts, and the charges have yet to be proven in court.

July 4 — The personal data of approximately 70,000 individuals in Singapore has been exposed in a cybersecurity incident involving an IBM-managed cloud environment, the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) announced on Friday.

The SLA said preliminary investigations revealed unauthorised access to a data set created solely for vendor development and testing within a cloud environment managed by IBM for the Singapore Titles Automated Registration System (STARS) and the eLodgment System (ELS). IBM serves as the appointed vendor to support and maintain these systems for the SLA.

According to the authority, the data set was originally created in 1998 and updated periodically over subsequent years. It was intended to contain only mock and anonymised testing data based on property ownership and lodgment records. However, the SLA has since uncovered that the data set also contained the names, National Registration Identity Card (NRIC) numbers, and property addresses of an estimated 70,000 individuals. “This information should have been anonymised but was not. Investigations are ongoing to determine how this occurred,” the SLA stated.

The SLA stressed that the affected testing environment managed by IBM is distinct and separate from the authority’s operational systems. “There is no connection or compromise to the live systems used for operations of STARS, ELS or any other SLA systems,” the authority said. Property ownership and lodgment records in the operational systems remain secure and unaffected.

IBM has revoked access associated with the affected development and testing environment to prevent any further unauthorised access. As a precautionary measure, the SLA has identified the individuals whose information was contained in the affected data set and has begun notifying them, while advising them on how to seek further information and assistance.

The SLA is working closely with IBM, the Government Technology Agency of Singapore, and the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore to investigate the incident, establish the full facts, and ensure that necessary remedial measures are taken. A police report has been filed and the Personal Data Protection Commission has been notified.

The authority has also advised members of the public to remain vigilant against phishing emails, phishing websites, text messages, or telephone calls from parties claiming to represent government agencies or other organisations while investigations are ongoing. The SLA apologised for the concern and inconvenience this incident may cause.