2012 in Singapore

Incumbents

• President: Tony Tan Keng Yam
• Prime Minister: Lee Hsien Loong

  Events

January

• 10 January –
• *Li Hong Yang dies after collapsing during training.
• *A report on ministerial salaries was released, which provides for cuts. The report was debated in Parliament from 16 to 18 January.
• 14 January – Opening of Circle Line Extension, extending from Promenade MRT station to Bayfront and Marina Bay MRT station.
• 15 January – The Ministry of Health launched a new health scheme known as the Community Health Assist Scheme, which has Blue and Orange Cards. This will help the low and middle income get affordable healthcare.
• 28 January – The Woodsville Tunnel opens to traffic, relieving congestion along Woodsville Interchange.

  February

• 16 February – Opening of the last two hotels in Resorts World Sentosa, Equarius Hotel and Beach Villas.

  March

• 8 March – The Kindness Gallery is opened.
• 9 March – Lemon Laws are passed in Parliament to protect consumers from defects. The laws come into effect on 1 September.
• 15 March – A 12-hour train disruption occurs on the North East MRT Line from HarbourFront to Dhoby Ghaut, after an overhead catenary wire snapped.
• 17 March – The revamped Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park is opened, transforming the park from a canal to a naturalised floodplain.
• 22 March – MAX Atria @ Singapore Expo opens as part of an expansion to Singapore Expo. It caters for changing needs of meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions participants and is an environmentally-friendly building. In addition, it is the first venue to provide free WiFi for participants.

  April

• 1 April – The Jurong Bird Park Panorail is closed.
• 2 April – JCube is opened in Jurong East.
• 6 April – Singapore Airlines flies the Boeing 747 for the last time.
• 11 April – The Singapore Institute of Technology unveils the designs for its Polytechnic campuses, unveiling a new logo too. The campuses, which will incorporate environmentally friendly features, will be completed by 2014.
• 17 April – Dominique Lee dies after an allergic reaction was triggered by excessive grenades.
• 30 April – Rediffusion Singapore, a digital radio station, ceases broadcast.

  May

• 7 May – Singapore University of Technology and Design is inaugurated by then President Tony Tan.
• 10 May – Tan Mou Sheng dies after an accident involving a Jeep.
• 26 May – A Workers' Party candidate who previously represented East Coast GRC in the 2011 Singaporean general election, Png Eng Huat, was elected as a Member-of-parliament for the opposition-held Hougang SMC as a result of the by-election victory, succeeding Yaw Shin Leong, who had earlier vacated his seat on 15 February due to his expulsion from the party as a result of his party misconduct and undisclosed extra-marital affair. This was also the first by-election in nearly two decades, since the 1992 Marine Parade by-election.
• 27 May – China Architecture Design and Research Group announced the acquisition of CPG Corporation from Australian heavy engineering firm Downer Group.

  June

• 4 June – Scoot, a low-cost airline, starts operations.
• 22 June – The Brompton bikes purchase was reported, sparking a controversy. As a result, the Ministry of National Development referred the case to the police. The person in charge of the purchase has since been fined S$5,000.
• 26 June – City Harvest Church Criminal Breach of Trust Case: President and senior pastor of City Harvest Church Kong Hee, along with four other leaders of City Harvest Church, were arrested and charged with misuse of funds which was heavily used under investments and Ho Yeow Sun. A sixth leader was charged on 25 July 2012. All six accused were granted bail of S$500,000 and had their passports withdrawn. At S$50 million worth of charity funds, this was the known largest misuse of charity funds in Singapore.
• 29 June – The Gardens by the Bay opens.

  July

• 1 July – Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, a private hospital in Novena, opened its doors.
• 5 July – Singapore Institute of Technology's campus at Temasek Polytechnic, known as SIT@TP, starts construction, which will finish by 2014. The building will house the Glasgow School of Art and The Culinary Institute of America.
• 6 July – Yale-NUS College starts construction on its new campus, which will official open in 2015.
• 19 July – NTUC Club announced plans to upgrade Downtown East with a new resort, an expanded Wild Wild Wet and better facilities, which will be done in 5 years.
• 24 July – Singapore Institute of Technology's campus at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, known as SIT@NP, starts construction, which will finish by 2014. The building will house Newcastle University, University of Glasgow and Wheelock College.
• 27 July – 12 August – Team Singapore took part in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The party's final result was two bronze medals, placing 76th out of 86 NOCs.

  August

• 1 August – The Media Literacy Council is formed to promote cyber wellness.
• 7 August – Singapore Institute of Technology's campus at Singapore Polytechnic, known as SIT@SP, starts construction, which will finish by 2014. The building will house the Technical University of Munich, University of Glasgow and DigiPen Institute of Technology.
• 12 August – Muhammad Fahrurrazi Bin Salim dies after his body was found 200 metres from the last seen position. That took place during a training in Brunei.
• 28 August – After 15 years, Carrefour announced that it will exit the Singapore market by year-end after closing its stores in Plaza Singapura and Suntec City.
• 29 August – 9 September – Team Singapore took part in the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London.
• * 3 September – Equestrian rider Laurentia Tan wins a Paralympic bronze medal. She wins a silver medal on 5 September.

  September

• 3 September – Kiss 92FM is launched with an emphasis on women and family matters, the first radio station in Singapore to do so.
• 6 September – Giant pandas Kai Kai and Jia Jia arrived in Singapore. They will be part of the River Safari when it opens.
• 8 September – Our Singapore Conversation is launched.
• 12 September – The Ministry of Education announced that school rankings by academic results will no longer be carried out, as well as an overhaul of school awards.
• 15 September – Gillman Barracks reopens as an art cluster.
• 17 September –
• *Singapore Power announced the S$2 billion north–south and east–west cable tunnels project to house electrical cables 60m underground. When completed by 2018, the project will help boost Singapore's power system and result in less inconvenience from road works.
• *The Star Vista is opened.
• 18 September – One Raffles Place Tower Two is officially opened.
• 25 September – Budget Terminal, one of the terminals located at the Singapore Changi Airport, ceases operation after six years of service and began demolition on 1 February 2013 to make way for Terminal 4.
• 27 September – Tan Tai Sen dies in a freak accident caused by a falling tree.
• 28 September – The second satellite blood collection centre opens in Dhoby Ghaut.

  October

• 15 October – The Personal Data Protection Act is passed in Parliament to safeguard data privacy and create a do-not-call registry.
• 16 October – Plans are unveiled for seven new waterfront districts as part of Punggol's second phase, along with more amenities.
• 22 October – The Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore is officially opened.
• 24 October – Sky Greens's vertical farm is officially opened, making Sky Greens the first commercial vertical farm in Singapore, boosting vegetable production.

  November

• 1 November –
• *The Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports and Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts are restructured into three ministries, which are the Ministry of Social and Family Development, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and Ministry of Communications and Information. It is hoped that the restructuring will be able to handle family and community issues more effectively. In addition, the National Archives of Singapore is now under the National Library Board.
• *The Star Performing Arts Centre was opened.
• 14 November – The death penalty is made discretionary in some cases of murder and drug trafficking, following amendments passed to the Penal Code and Misuse of Drugs Act.
• 15 November – Sheba the polar bear dies at the age of 35.
• 16 November – The new Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise is officially opened, giving a boost for R&D activities.
• 21 November – The Ministry of Education announced that top scorers will no longer be disclosed, starting from the 2012 PSLE results.
• 26 November – 171 SMRT bus drivers conducted a strike which lasted for two days.
• 29 November – The Giant Panda Forest in River Safari is opened.

  December

• 1 December – Pacnet ceased operations of its residential internet network.
• 7 December – Resorts World Sentosa officially opens with a new 8m sculpture unveiled.
• 10 December – An accident occurred on the RSN Endurance.
• 12 December – Speaker of Parliament and MP of Punggol East SMC, Michael Palmer resigned due to an extra-marital affair.
• 22 December – The Singapore national football team wins the 2012 AFF Championship finals, winning Thailand 3–2.

  Deaths

• 3 February – Toh Chin Chye, pioneer Deputy Prime Minister.
• 4 February – Lee Hee Seng, former banker, public servant.
• 5 March – Khoo Oon Teik, doctor, founder of National Kidney Foundation.
• 10 March – Tan Boon Teik, second Attorney-General.
• 27 March – Nalla Tan, doctor, academic, author.
• 2 May – Emma Yong, actress, member of Dim Sum Dollies.
• 3 June – Lady Yuen-Peng McNeice, nature conservationist.
• 4 June – Lim Hock Siew, former politician and ISA detainee of Operation Coldstore.
• 29 June – Yong Nyuk Lin, former politician.
• 24 November – Tan Chong Tee, member of Force 136.