Two flat owners fined for high-rise littering in first convictions under presumption-of-guilt clause
Food waste thrown out of a window of an HDB flat in Ang Mo Kio. (Image: NEA)
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SINGAPORE: Two owners of Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats have been fined by a court for high-rise littering – the first such convictions under a clause that presumes guilt if they cannot prove that they are not responsible for the offence.
The clause under the Environmental Public Health Act came into effect on Jul 1, 2023, strengthening legislation to enable the National Environment Agency (NEA) to take action against high-rise littering.
The first person convicted under the presumption clause was a 63-year-old man who was fined S$700 (US$521) on Jun 11.
He presumably threw an object out of a toilet window from his flat at Bedok North Street 2, NEA said in a media release on Saturday (Jul 27).
Two weeks later, on Jun 25, a 42-year-old woman was also fined S$700 for presumably throwing items such as food waste and unknown liquid out of her kitchen window at a block in Ang Mo Kio Street 52.
In both cases, NEA had installed surveillance cameras in response to persistent reports of high-rise littering. The cameras captured the acts of littering from the flats.
“These cases are the first two convictions for high-rise littering under the presumption clause,” said NEA.
“Both were first offenders of high-rise littering.”
Those found guilty of littering from a residential flat may be fined up to S$2,000 for the first offence and up to S$4,000 for the second conviction.
Upon a third or subsequent conviction, an offender may be fined up to S$10,000. They may also be given a Corrective Work Order requiring them to clean public areas for up to 12 hours.
The statutory presumption clause for high-rise littering is aimed at placing a greater onus on registered flat owners and tenants to prevent littering.
In cases where a unit has been proven to be the source of littering, the flat owner or tenant will be taken to court if he or she cannot prove within a given time period that they are not the offender.
There is a framework in place to deal with people from vulnerable groups such as the elderly, or mentally or physically disabled. Such offenders or their families can write to NEA with supporting documents. The agency will then review the circumstances of each case before taking any action, which could include issuing a warning.
No enforcement action will be taken against children under 12 years old. However, adults who seek to take advantage of this by pushing the blame onto their children may be further prosecuted if they are found to have lied to the authorities.
FEEDBACK, CAMERAS, ENFORCEMENT
When the clause was introduced in parliament last year, NEA provided figures showing a 77 per cent increase in feedback on high-rise littering - from an average of 16,800 instances annually from 2016 to 2018, to an average of 29,700 instances annually from 2019 to 2021.
From 2021 to 2023, NEA investigated about 29,000 instances of feedback annually, the agency on Saturday.
Over the same period, NEA deployed an average of 2,500 cameras annually.
The number of enforcement actions has fallen in recent years.
In 2023, about 700 enforcement actions were taken against high-rise littering, compared with about 1,100 in the previous year and 1,500 in 2021.
"Littering from residential flats is a serious offence as it poses a danger to the public, dirties the environment and threatens our public hygiene," NEA said.
"In this Year of Public Hygiene, with a strong emphasis on the collective efforts needed by all stakeholders to uphold high standards of public hygiene, everyone is reminded that they have a critical role to play."
