Bus-stop benches in Singapore cost between $500 and $1,500, excluding installation costs, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has said.

The authority was replying to media queries on the cost of bus stop benches after recent reports about a man who got into trouble with the law for taking home such a bench.

The LTA told The Straits Times that benches at bus stops are expected to last at least 20 years with minimum maintenance, and the cost of a bench depends on its features and materials. "For example, some older benches are made from concrete and stainless steel, while new ones are aluminium and come with arm rests that enable elderly commuters to get up from their seats more easily," an LTA spokesman said on Sunday.

The spokesman added that there are about 5,000 bus stops in Singapore of various designs, depending on when they were constructed.

Open tenders are called for the upgrading of existing bus stops, including the construction and replacement of benches, Yahoo reported last Friday.

The cost of these benches came under public scrutiny earlier this month following reports of a man who had taken home one such bench. Tan Ke Wei, 22, was sentenced to a seven-day short detention order on Oct 9 after he pleaded guilty to removing a grey metal bench worth $1,500 from a bus stop in Braddell Road in June last year.

For committing mischief and causing loss or damage amounting to $500 or more, he could have been jailed for up to two years, fined, or both.

Questions about the cost of the bench also arose as furniture retailers ran advertisements for cheaper benches that cost between $150 and $200, while referencing Tan's case.

The LTA said the bench Tan removed was a powder-coated aluminium bench. It costs about $1,300, with an installation cost of around $200.

The authority said that a contractor had already tightened the Braddell bus-stop bench with nuts and bolts, and finishing works to encase the fastened anchor bolts with concrete were due to be carried out before the bench was removed.