More tickets for high-rise littering, smoking in HDB estates
Increase in 2020 due to tighter enforcement resulting from increased public feedback
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Last year, there were 1,090 tickets issued for smoking in areas such as common corridors, staircases and lift lobbies, an increase of 112 per cent from 2019, while the number of high-rise littering acts captured on camera increased by 80 per cent.
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The number of tickets issued for smoking in Housing Board (HDB) common areas more than doubled last year because of tighter enforcement resulting from increased public feedback.
There were 1,090 tickets issued for smoking in areas such as common corridors, staircases and lift lobbies, an increase of 112 per cent from 2019, said the National Environment Agency (NEA) yesterday.
The number of high-rise littering acts captured on camera increased by 80 per cent last year.
NEA added that the total provisional figure for high-rise littering offences was 1,120.
The increase was due to changes in enforcement and resource deployment in response to an increase in public feedback during the Covid-19 pandemic, when more people were working from home.
Public feedback on high-rise littering and smoking went up by 45 per cent and 25 per cent respectively last year, said NEA.
One of its deployment changes was an increase in camera surveillance on high-rise littering by more than half - from 1,700 locations in 2019 to over 2,700 last year.
The overall figure for all types of littering and smoking offences, however, fell from 49,000 in 2019 to 36,000 last year.
The decrease was attributed to Covid-19 measures, including the two-month circuit breaker, said NEA.
"With more people working from home, there were also fewer enforcement actions for littering offences in traditionally high footfall locations, such as transport nodes and congregation areas outside of malls or open fields, but more enforcement actions taken against smoking at prohibited areas in HDB estates," it said.
It added that its enforcement officers encountered physical and verbal abuse in the course of their duties.
Last year, there were 90 such cases, 10 per cent more than in 2019. More than 70 of these occurred when officers were engaging with offenders who were either smoking or littering.
"NEA takes a serious view of those who verbally or physically abuse our officers and will not hesitate to take strong actions, which may result in criminal prosecution for possible offences," it added.
As part of NEA's move to adopt a holistic approach to enforcement, it trialled information stands that display the number of littering incidents in the area and the enforcement actions.
The three-month trial started in October, and NEA plans to roll it out islandwide this year.
