Foreign worker who plucked leaves gets warning instead of fine
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Amir Hussain
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A foreign worker caught plucking the leaves of a tree at the Singapore Botanic Gardens earlier this month has been issued a warning by the National Parks Board instead of being fined.
The Bangladeshi worker's employer successfully appealed on his behalf to NParks against a Notice of Offence.
In a statement yesterday, NParks said it had been in touch with his employers.
Said a spokesman: "We have considered the mitigating circumstances related to the case and assessed that the damage caused by plucking the leaves off the tree was minimal.
"Therefore, while an offence had been committed, we have decided not to take further action... Instead, we have issued him with a warning not to repeat the offence."
A photo of a notice of offence issued to the worker on Jan 14 for plucking the leaves of a Syzygium myrtifolium tree as well as a photo showing the default $2,000 composition fine on an AXS machine have been circulating on social media, with netizens commenting on the amount of the fine.
In its statement, the NParks spokesman reminded the public that it is illegal to damage or remove plants, or parts of plants, from parks and gardens.
Offenders have also been taken to court.
In one case, an offender who removed two critically endangered Kopsia singapurensis saplings from a park was prosecuted in court and fined $3,000.
The Kopsia singapurensis - better known as the Singapore kopsia - is a small tree that grows in freshwater swamp forests, and can be found only in Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia.
Under the Parks and Trees Act, it is an offence to cut, collect or displace any plant within a public park. Offenders can be fined up to $5,000.
Amir Hussain
Correction note: The article has been updated for clarity.
