Top stories from The Straits Times on Monday, Oct 14

Good morning! Here are our top stories to kick-start your Monday, Oct 14.


$175m in GST and penalties recovered by Iras; funeral operators particularly susceptible to tax offences

Iras said it had picked companies for audit by using data analytics to identify those at risk of non-compliance and evasion.

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Typhoon Hagibis leaves trail of destruction in Japan as death toll rises to 35

Government data showed that as many as 142 rivers had overflowed.

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Vape culture still alive in Singapore - underground

Buyers use code words when getting supplies from sellers tucked away in malls.

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British PM Boris Johnson to set out post-Brexit law and order drive in Queen's Speech

It will almost certainly include a section on a law to enact a Brexit deal.

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Smaller protests in Hong Kong a sign that mask ban works?

The dwindling crowd could be a sign that the "peaceful, rational and non-violent" protesters who express their unhappiness through singing and folding paper cranes, are now forced to choose.

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Searching around bodies and in false ceilings - all in a day's work for tax investigators

There were also raids on residences or offices where there were large amounts of cold hard cash uncovered, just like in the movies.

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Ageing should be talked about positively and not as a problem: Tan Chuan-Jin

While an ageing population brings deep and serious challenges to many societies, Singapore may be able to thrive given its effectiveness in making long-term plans to tackle related issues, he said.

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Nee Soon South and Chong Pang Housing Board blocks to get dementia-friendly features

Similar to zoned car parks, the blocks will also feature icons - pineapple for red blocks, fish for blue blocks and rubber trees for green blocks.

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Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice founder dies: The man behind the popular restaurant

To improve the taste of the restaurant's food, Mr Wee would take leftovers or almost untouched dinners back into the kitchen to have a taste himself.

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'I thought breastfeeding would be automatic, but it's not,' says mother of baby boy

Breastfeeding, as the new mother found out, was very tiring, particularly in the first two months when she woke a few times a night to feed her son.

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