SINGAPORE: Birds are still becoming a nuisance at a coffee shop located in Toa Payoh when they directly fly onto the tables and snatch diners’ food. With this, the diners admitted that it was difficult to send them away, and the vendors even made their own partitions to prevent the birds from entering.

A 74-year-old private driver was dining at the coffee shop when he noticed that the customers near his table did not clean their dishes after finishing their meal. As soon as these customers left, about two or three pigeons flew onto the table and snatched the food, according to Shin Min Daily News.

With this, the man claimed: “These birds are not afraid of people, and sometimes you can’t shoo them away.”

This raised concerns about food hygiene and safety. When a reporter visited the coffee shop, it was discovered that several pigeons were wandering inside the shop, and others still flew onto the tables. 

A 50-year-old clerk admitted that there were more birds in the morning because there were more customers, and cleaners didn’t have enough time to collect all the dishes at once. 

Many people revealed that the said bird problem has always existed, and it has not been resolved in recent years. 

In a separate bird-related case in Singapore, a 67-year-old woman was reportedly caught repeatedly feeding pigeons across several Yishun HDB estates.

Since feeding these birds is illegal in the country, the suspect faces four charges for feeding wild animals without permission, thus violating the Wildlife Act. 

Read more about the news story here.

This article (Failed attempt to chase the birds away: Pigeons land on dining tables and snatch food from diners) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.

SINGAPORE, May 14 — Foo Siang Wee, 34, was sentenced to 18 months and 49 days’ jail in Singapore two days ago after admitting to cheating, criminal breach of trust and selling access to his Singpass account.

He had also used his bank account for illicit access by unknown parties, with those offences taken into consideration during sentencing, The Straits Times reported.

The court heard Foo was already a repeat offender, having previously run a similar fake Rolex scam in 2021 on Carousell.

In February 2025, he listed a Rolex Submariner “Half Gold” watch for S$10,000 (RM35,000) and tricked two buyers into transferring S$4,000 (RM14,000) and S$8,000 (RM28,000) respectively.

He stalled victims with fabricated excuses, including claims that his wife needed to inspect the cash before the watch could be released.

After receiving the money, he severed contact and disappeared.

Separately, Foo stole more than S$29,000 (RM101,500) while working as a food court manager at Koufu in Toa Payoh’s HDB Hub between January and February 2025.

When confronted, he initially apologised and promised repayment but later went missing and stopped responding.

In November 2023, Foo also handed over his Singpass credentials to an unknown Telegram user for a promised S$400–S$500 (RM1,400–RM1,750), but never received any payment.

Investigators found that Foo had gambled away all proceeds from his offences before his arrest on March 24, 2025.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Nivethaa Ravintharan said Foo had been involved in cheating and property-related crimes since 2016.

His record includes a 2021 conviction for the same Rolex scam, which netted S$7,000 (RM24,500), as well as a 2018 case involving fraudulent Marina Bay Sands hotel packages.

The court considered but declined to impose a compensation order, noting that Foo was unemployed and had no means to repay victims.

For cheating offences alone, Foo could have faced up to 10 years’ jail and a fine.