Penalties for high-rise littering need to be significantly raised: Vivian Balakrishnan
By Saifulbahri Ismail
POSTED: 13 May 2013 6:50 PM
Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Dr Vivian Balakrishnan (file picture)
SINGAPORE: Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan has said the penalties for high-rise littering will need to be significantly raised.
Speaking in Parliament on Monday, Dr Balakrishnan said there also needs to be a more effective way of identifying the culprits.
Close-circuit cameras started to be installed in HDB blocks in 2011 to address the problem of high-rise littering.
Giving an update, Dr Balakrishnan said the surveillance cameras have identified 12 suspects engaged in high-rise littering, and so far, five of them have been prosecuted.
The courts have imposed fines ranging from S$800 to S$1,500. But this may not be enough.
Dr Balakrishnan said more than 8,000 complaints of high-rise littering are received every year. But only 10 to 12 cases have been brought to court a year.
Dr Balakrishnan is less than satisfied with the numbers because the cameras have been installed to increase the probability of culprits being caught.
He acknowledged that it is not practical to have cameras in every HDB block, and it should only be used as a last resort.
His ministry will encourage the adoption of personal responsibility and cultivation of proper social norms within neighbourhoods.
In addition, Dr Balakrishnan said he will be reviewing the process of camera installation for greater deterrent effect.
He elaborated: "Because right now, I sometimes receive irate e-mails from complainants (saying), 'This is ridiculous. You put up a camera, you tell everybody exactly where and when you are putting it up. So, the person just naturally makes sure he does not litter at that point, and then he resumes after that.'
"So, yes, we will make some changes, but I still want to emphasise this cat-and-mouse game cannot be the real solution, and we need more effective assumption of personal responsibility, and we need local action on the ground by people who are actually living there and who know who the culprits are."
- CNA/ms
