1995 in Singapore

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← 1994 1993 1992 1995 in Singapore → 1996 1997 1998
Decades:	1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s
See also:	Other events of 1995 Timeline of Singaporean history

The following lists events that happened during 1995 in Singapore.

Incumbents

• President: Ong Teng Cheong
• Prime Minister: Goh Chok Tong

Events

February

• 26 February – Britain's oldest merchant bank, Barings Bank, collapses as a result of Briton Nick Leeson's trading activities, which lost $1.4 billion by speculating on the Singapore International Monetary Exchange, primarily using futures contracts. ^[1] He was arrested on 23 November after fleeing Singapore for 272 days. Subsequently, Leeson pleaded guilty to two counts of forgery and eight counts of cheating, and was sentenced to six and a half years in prison. ^[2]

March

• 1 March – Singapore's Family Court was established. ^[3]
• 4 March – The Kranji Expressway was officially opened. ^[4]
• 8 March – Briton John Martin Scripps murdered South African Gerard George Lowe in River View Hotel, dismembered his body, and disposed of the body parts in the Singapore River. He was found guilty of murder and hanged on 19 April 1996. ^[5]
• 17 March – Flor Contemplacion, a Filipina domestic worker, was hanged on 4 May 1991 for the murder of fellow worker, Delia Maga, and her four-year-old charge, Nicholas Huang. ^[6]
• 26 March – Walt Disney Television's Satellite Facility officially opened, making it Disney's first international centre. The facility broadcast Disney programmes to Southeast Asia. ^[7]

April

• 27 April – The ST Teleport is launched for telecommunications and broadcasting purposes. ^[8]
• Late April – The IKEA Alexandra store, the first new building adjacent to Queensway Shopping Centre, is officially opened.^{[ citation needed ]}

May

• 2 May – The first C651 trains are put into operation on the North South and East West lines.
• 17 May – The Chinese Heritage Centre is officially opened in Nanyang Technological University, showcasing Chinese culture and history. ^[9]

June

• 2 June – The National Day Ceremony song "My People My Home" is unveiled and announced to be used for the 1995 National Day Parade. Since then, the NDP has been scheduled at Padang every five years.
• 12 June – Dongli 88.3FM (present-day 883Jia) is launched as a bilingual radio station by SAFRA. ^[10]
• 23 June – Singapore Cable Vision is officially launched as a cable television provider, providing Singaporeans with more entertainment options. The whole cable system is completed in 1998, initially its coverage was limited to Tampines. ^[11]
• 24 June – The Ren Ci Hospital is officially opened. ^[12]
• 26 June – MTV Southeast Asia's broadcasting centre was officially opened. It had production facilities which broadcast MTV in English heralding a wave of American English music video programmes. ^[13]

July

• 1 July
  • CityCab begins operations, formed through the merger of three taxi companies: Singapore Airport Bus Service Ltd (SABS), Singapore Bus Service Taxi Pte Ltd (SBS Taxi Pte Ltd) and Singapore Commuter Pte Ltd. ^[14]
  • The West Coast Barter Trade Centre closes due to declining use. ^[15]

August

The UOB Plaza

• 1 August – The Seletar Satellite Earth Station is officially opened. ^[16]
• 6 August – The UOB Plaza is officially opened. It joins the OUB Centre (now One Raffles Place) as one of Singapore's tallest buildings at 280 metres, until Guoco Tower's completion in 2016, which is 290 metres. ^[17]
• 20 August – The Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) is announced to unlock economic value for residential buildings. ^[18] On the same day, the Executive Condominium scheme is introduced to meet Singaporeans' aspirations for condominium living, which may be too expensive for some. ^[19]
• 22 August – Sites located at Boon Tiong Road and Tiong Bahru Road are selected for the first SERS project. ^[20]
• 25 August – SAFTI Military Institute is officially opened in Jurong West. ^[21]
• 30 August – The Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre (now Suntec) is officially opened. ^[22]

September

• 1 September –
  • Plans for a new arts radio station were announced at the launch of Prime 12 and Premiere 12. ^[23]
  • The Land Transport Authority was launched to develop the land transport system in Singapore.
  • The National Library Board was launched to improve libraries in Singapore.
  • The prefix '9' is added to all mobile numbers.
  • A new six-digit postal code system takes effect, replacing the four-digit system used since 1979. ^{[24] [25]}
• 5 September –
  • Pacific Internet starts operations as Singapore's second ISP, after acquiring TechNet on 19 June. ^{[26] [27]}
  • Cyberway Internet is awarded an ISP licence, making it Singapore's third Internet operator. ^{[28] [29]}
• 8 September – Parco Bugis Junction is opened to the public. ^[30]

October

• 1 October – The Public Utilities Board is reconstituted, resulting in the setting up of Singapore Power (now SP Group). ^[31]
• 20 October – The National Orchid Garden was opened. ^[32]

November

• 2 November – Parliament passed the Maintenance of Parents Act, a private member's bill introduced by Woon Cheong Ming Walter. ^[33]
• 5 November – The second phase of the Seletar Expressway opened.
• 10 November – Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal is officially opened to enhance ferry links. ^[34]
• 25 November – Century Square is officially opened. ^[35]

December

• 7 December – Jurong Point opens its doors.
• 29 December – Nanook the polar bear (of Singapore Zoo) dies at the age of 18.

Births

• 28 January – He Yingying, Mediacorp actress
• 16 June – Joseph Schooling, swimmer.
• 17 June - Chantalle Ng, Mediacorp TV actress
• 22 June - Amanda Germaine Lee, MADDSpace Senior Vocal Coach.
• 7 August – Kimberly Chia, actress.
• 6 September – Seow Sin Nee, actress and host.
• 14 December - Yung Raja, Singaporean Tamil rapper, TV actor.

Deaths

• 11 June – Ang Chwee Chai, pioneer of photography (b. 1910). ^[36]
• 1 September – Ye Fong, comedian (b. 1932). ^[37]
• 20 September – Chiou Sin Min, prominent figure in Singaporean education and Southeast Asian history (b. 1914). ^[38]
• 4 October – Eu Chooi Yip, one of the prominent leaders of the Malayan Communist Party in Singapore (b. 1918). ^[39]
• 12 December – David Marshall, 1st Chief Minister of Singapore (b. 1908). ^[40]
• 16 December – Anthony Then, dance pioneer (b. 1944). ^[41]

References

1. "Barings Bank collapses from Nick Leeson's loss". NLB. 26 February 1995. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
2. "Guilty As Charged: Rogue trader Nick Leeson brought down Britain's oldest merchant bank Barings". The Straits Times. Singapore. 16 May 2016. Archived from the original on 16 May 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
3. "Family Justice Practice Forum: CJ'S Address" (PDF). Supreme Court of Singapore. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
4. "Opening ceremony of the Kranji Expressway" (PDF). NAS. 4 March 1995. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
5. "Other gruesome murders that took place in Singapore". The New Paper. Singapore. 4 April 2012. Archived from the original on 4 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
6. Ministry of Information and the Arts, Singapore (1995). Flor Contemplacion: The Facts of the Case. Singapore: Ministry of Information and the Arts, Singapore. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
7. "Launching of Walt Disney Television (Singapore)'s Satellite Facility" (PDF). NAS. 26 March 1995. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
8. "Launching of Singapore Technologies (ST) Teleport" (PDF). NAS. 27 April 1995. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
9. "Opening of the Chinese Heritage Centre" (PDF). NAS. 17 May 1995. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
10. "SAFRA gets more Power with Chinese FM station (Page 7)". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 3 June 1995. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
11. "Official Launch of Singapore Cablevision" (PDF). NAS. 23 June 1995. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
12. "Official Opening of Ren Ci Hospital" (PDF). NAS. 24 June 1995. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
13. "Opening of MTV Asia" (PDF). NAS. 26 June 1995. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
14. "Milestones". ComfortDelgro Taxi. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
15. "Lack of use so historical barter trade site closes from today (Page 2)". The Business Times (retrieved from NLB). 1 July 1995. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
16. "News 5 Tonight (1 August 1995)". Television Corporation of Singapore (Retrieved from NAS). 1 August 1995. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
17. "Opening of the United Overseas Bank (UOB) Plaza" (PDF). NAS. 6 August 1995. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
18. "Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme is introduced". NLB. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
19. "Executive Condominum Housing Scheme". HDB. 29 August 1995. Archived from the original on 24 June 1997. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
20. "Selective En-Bloc Redevelopment Scheme". HDB. 22 August 1995. Archived from the original on 24 June 1997. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
21. "Opening Ceremony of SAFTI Military Institute" (PDF). NAS. 25 August 1995. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
22. "Grand Opening of the Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre" (PDF). NAS. 30 August 1995. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
23. "Launch of channels Prime 12 and Premiere 12 of TV12" (PDF). NAS. 1 September 1995. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
24. "Six-digit postal code system". NLB. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
25. "Six-digit postal codes will apply to all areas from Sept 1". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 19 August 1995. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
26. "Sembawang venture to buy Technet for $2.5m (page 41)". The Straits Times (Retrieved from NLB). 20 June 1995. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
27. "Pacific Internet can start its services today (page 36)". The Straits Times (Retrieved from NLB). 5 September 1995. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
28. "Opening of the Workshop on Telecommunications "Voyage Through Cyberspace" at Singapore Polytechnic" (PDF). NAS. 5 September 1995. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
29. "Cyberway to be third Internet service provider (page 3)". The Straits Times (Retrieved from NLB). 6 September 1995. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
30. "Bugis-Rochor area to be arts, entertainment hub". The Straits Times. 9 September 1995. p. 48 – via NewspaperSG.
31. "PUB to split into three entities from Oct 1". The Business Times (retrieved from NLB). 23 September 1995. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
32. "Launch of the National Orchid Garden" (PDF). NAS. 20 October 1995. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
33. Sue-Ann Chia (11 March 2010), "Know the past to tackle the future", The Straits Times, p. B14. The first ever Act since 1965 originating from a private member's bill was the Roman Catholic Archbishop Bill introduced by P. Selvadurai and Chiang Hai Ding in 1974 and passed the following year as the Roman Catholic Archbishop Act (now Cap. 375,1985 Rev. Ed.). This was a private act, not a public one: Chia, ibid. See also Walter Woon (28 June 1994), "Honor thy father and mother – or else", The Wall Street Journal , p. A18; "Govt gives backing to Parents Bill", The Straits Times, 27 July 1994; Walter Woon (11 August 1994), "Family matters", Far Eastern Economic Review , p. 30; "Parents maintenance bill passed", The Straits Times, 3 November 1995.
34. "Official Opening of the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal" (PDF). NAS. 10 November 1995. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
35. "Official Opening of Century Square" (PDF). NAS. 25 November 1995. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
36. "Ang Chwee Chai". NLB. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
37. "Comedian Ya Fong, 63, dies". The Straits Times. 2 September 1995. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
38. "俞〓教育界前辈邱新民逝世". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. 22 September 1995. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
39. "Ex-Communist Party of Malaya leader and anti-colonialist dies". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. 6 October 1995. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
40. "David Saul Marshall". NLB. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
41. "Anthony Then". NLB. Retrieved 14 August 2019.