Watch: Top videos of 2016, from Joseph Schooling's homecoming to Pokemon Go frenzy

Olympic heroes or heroes among us; heartwarming stories or profiles in courage. The Straits Times' video team had a busy 2016, capturing news, views, people and places. Here are just some of the most-watched videos and the videos most-talked about on social media from ST Video.

Updated

Published

Dec 23, 2016, 05:00 PM

Former bad hat makes good after vicious gang attack

He joined a gang and became a drug dealer in his teens. After being attacked by six knife wielding gangsters, Eddie Neo was left in a coma for four months. When he woke, he decided to turn his life around.

Like most of the young people working at the Charles & Keith headquarters in Tai Seng Link, Mr Eddie Neo cuts a trendy, sartorially spiffy figure.

His hair barbered into the latest comb-over, the 32-year-old is decked out in a striped blouson jacket, grey sweat pants and a pair of black sequined loafers with gold tips for his interview with The Sunday Times.

Read more here.

Long-time residents bid goodbye to Rochor Centre: 'Each neighbour is worth a million bucks'

The colourful HDB blocks in Rochor Centre are iconic structures of public housing. Built in 1977, the residential and commercial complex will make way for the construction of the North South Expressway in 2016. The Straits Times speaks to residents and business owners on their time in Rochor Centre.

Every day at 5.30am, retiree Victor Devan, 70, wakes up to the sound of the azan sounding from the nearby Abdul Gaffor mosque.

The Rochor Centre resident of 25 years - a familiar face to many in the area - has never needed an alarm clock.

Read more here.

Crowds line the streets and cheer as Joseph Schooling goes on 3-stop victory parade

Schooling and working took a backseat as Singaporeans of all ages and races lined the streets to give Olympic gold medallist Joseph Schooling a hero's farewell during his 3-stop victory parade.

From the HDB estate in Marine Parade to the glitzy shopping belt in the city, thousands lined the streets to give Singapore's first Olympic champion Joseph Schooling a rousing send-off on Thursday (Aug 18).

Schooling, 21, waved to the crowd and said "thank you" as he rode on a red open-top bus in a three-hour journey which took him from Marine Terrace Market to Singtel Comcentre and finally to Raffles City Shopping Centre.

Read more here.

ST Sessions: Theodora Lau

The girl-next-door with haunting vocals. Get up close and personal with singer-songwriter Theodora Lau as she kicks off the third season of ST Sessions.

Read more here.

Reliving history in last Hakka cemetery

Hedged by Housing Board flats and an MRT track, Shuang Long Shan cemetery has been in Holland Close since the late 1960s. For former cemetery supervisor Loh Kwan Ling, 86, this is a place of peace. But it could soon become a thing of the past.

Surrounded by Housing Board flats and a MRT track, Shuang Long Shan Cemetery has been the only constant in Holland Close since the late 1960s.

Unchanged since its graves were re-interred from a bigger graveyard that covered 40ha in the Ghim Moh area, the now smaller cemetery for the Hakka community - about the size of 2½ football fields - has completed half of its 99-year lease.

Read more here.

New video series Heroes Among Us kicks off with story of young leadership award winner

Martial arts instructor Qin Yunquan was overweight and in her school's Trim and Fit (TAF) club. After a battle with anorexia, she discovered the Israeli martial arts called Kapap. She now trains others to defend themselves.

At a recent interview, Ms Qin Yunquan described her teenage self as someone who lacked self confidence.

But the now 27-year-old is no longer the same insecure girl.

Read more here.

Bridget's Adventures: Flying over water with a jetpack

Elroy Jetson is not the only one who can fly around with his jetpack. With the water-propelled jetpack at Ola Beach Club at Sentosa, all you need is plenty of energy and the courage to go up high.

The chorus of R. Kelly's song I Believe I Can Fly filled my head as the instructor increased the pressure of the water bursting out of the jetpack on my back.

Within seconds, I was dipping in and out of the water surface, and swerving in all directions. No amount of shrieking and kicking helped. I was not feeling the freedom of flight.

Read more here.

Zouk's last night at Jiak Kim Street

After 25 years at its Jiak Kim Street location by the Singapore River, Singapore nightlife institution Zouk opened its doors there for the last time on Saturday (Dec 3).

The crowds gathered for the historic occasion from as early as 7pm, four hours before the doors opened at 11pm.

Read more here.

Freewheeling sport of wheelchair rugby gives GBS survivor a new lease of life

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) survivor Tan Whee Boon may have lost his hands and feet, but he hasn't lost his spirit. The 51-year-old has learnt to walk and even took up a new sport: wheelchair rugby.

For three hours on Tuesday (Oct 4) night, 51-year-old Tan Whee Boon rolled himself around a basketball court trying to get a volleyball across a finish line. He took bumps from his teammates and ended the night with several fresh bruises and abrasions on his arms.

Tomorrow, Mr Tan will hop on a flight to Jakarta and represent Singapore in the 2016 TAFISA World Games, where his team will battle it out with their counterparts from seven other nations.

Read more here.

Pokemon Go fans out in force to catch 'em all

We are one people, one nation, with one goal: To catch them all.

They want to be the very best, like no one ever was. This fast-expanding group of avid Pokemon hunters are taking over parks and playgrounds in Singapore in their quest to catch them

We are one people, one nation, with one goal: To catch them all.

Since its launch on Aug 6, Pokemon Go mania has swept the island, with hunters young and old letting their fingers do the capturing of the virtual monsters on their smartphones.

Read more here.