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Glory & pain: The year in pictures

From the collapse of an uncompleted viaduct near the Pan-Island Expressway to Singapore's oldest flea market in Sungei Road closing shop after 80 years of drawing locals and tourists, The Straits Times picture desk reviews this year's best local news images.

Updated

Published

Dec 18, 2017, 05:00 AM

SEPT 14: Madam Halimah Yacob, flanked by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, being sworn in at the Istana as Singapore's eighth president and the country's first woman president. Madam Halimah, 63, is the former Speaker — JULY 14: Singapore Civil Defence Force officers carrying out rescue operations after a viaduct under construction in Upper Changi Road East collapsed, killing one worker and injuring 10. The tragedy happened when construction firm Or Kim Peow was casting a section of the viaduct. ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR

SEPT 14: Madam Halimah Yacob, flanked by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, being sworn in at the Istana as Singapore's eighth president and the country's first woman president. Madam Halimah, 63, is the former Speaker — JULY 10: Lightning flashing in the distance as a crowd gathers to hear the Save Sungei Road Market Group and the flea market’s association give a statement on its last day. In operation since the 1930s, Singapore’s oldest flea market was closed to make way for future residential and commercial development. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG

SEPT 14: Madam Halimah Yacob, flanked by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, being sworn in at the Istana as Singapore's eighth president and the country's first woman president. Madam Halimah, 63, is the former Speaker — SEPT 14: Madam Halimah Yacob, flanked by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, being sworn in at the Istana as Singapore’s eighth president and the country’s first woman president. Madam Halimah, 63, is the former Speaker of Parliament. She was elected unopposed in a presidential election reserved for candidates from the Malay community, which has not been represented in the office since 1970. ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN

SEPT 14: Madam Halimah Yacob, flanked by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, being sworn in at the Istana as Singapore's eighth president and the country's first woman president. Madam Halimah, 63, is the former Speaker — MAY 23: Third Warrant Officer Sim Chee Jin landing on his side after being entangled in midair in the parachute of a Red Lion teammate. 3WO Sim did not get up and was taken away on a stretcher for treatment. The Singapore Army said he had “some minor scrapes” from the mishap during a rehearsal jump for the Army Open House at the F1 pit. ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR

SEPT 14: Madam Halimah Yacob, flanked by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, being sworn in at the Istana as Singapore's eighth president and the country's first woman president. Madam Halimah, 63, is the former Speaker — OCT 7: A stalled train in the flooded tunnel between Bishan and Braddell MRT stations disrupted services on the North-South Line for more than 20 hours on a weekend. A malfunction in the water pumping system prevented pumps from siphoning off the water from heavy rain. Water levels rose to more than 30cm. Officers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force, SMRT, national water agency PUB and the Land Transport Authority worked overnight to clear the water and restore train services. PHOTO: ST READER

FEB 12 (right): A boy stopping to look as workers clear the remains of a fallen tembusu tree at Botanic Gardens' Palm Valley. The 40m-tall tree fell suddenly, killing a woman and injuring four people. A National Parks Board probe found all trees in t — APRIL 21: City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee arriving in pouring rain at the State Courts to surrender himself and begin his 3½-year jail term. He was among six leaders of the church who were found guilty of misusing $50 million in church funds in 2015. The High Court, on appeal, reduced their jail terms on April 7 to between seven months and 3½ years, down from between 21 months and eight years. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG

SEPT 14: Madam Halimah Yacob, flanked by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, being sworn in at the Istana as Singapore's eighth president and the country's first woman president. Madam Halimah, 63, is the former Speaker — AUG 21: The collision between USS John S. McCain, a guided-missile destroyer, and oil tanker Alnic MC is one of the deadliest naval accidents in Singapore waters. Ten US sailors lost their lives after damage to the warship’s left rear caused flooding of compartments like crew berthing. Its top two officers, commanders Alfredo J. Sanchez and Jessie L. Sanchez, were relieved of their positions “due to a loss of confidence”, the Navy’s 7th Fleet from Japan said in a statement in October. ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO

APRIL 21: City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee arriving in pouring rain at the State Courts to surrender himself and begin his 3½-year jail term. He was among six leaders of the church who were found guilty of misusing $50 million in church funds in — JAN 30: One of the nine SAF Terrex Infantry Carrier Vehicles, covered with a tarpaulin, moving off at PSA Pasir Panjang terminal after returning home. The nine had been detained by Customs while on transit in Hong Kong on Nov 23 last year. They were bound for Singapore after an SAF military exercise in Taiwan. The APL vessel shipping them back had reportedly failed to provide appropriate permits for the vehicles. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG

SEPT 14: Madam Halimah Yacob, flanked by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, being sworn in at the Istana as Singapore's eighth president and the country's first woman president. Madam Halimah, 63, is the former Speaker — FEB 12: A boy stopping to look as workers clear the remains of a fallen tembusu tree at Botanic Gardens’ Palm Valley. The 40m-tall tree fell suddenly, killing a woman and injuring four people. A National Parks Board probe found all trees in the Palm Valley to be safe. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG

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