SINGAPORE – An unlicensed street hawker who peddled roasted chestnuts was fined $27,600 on Wednesday.

Between May 2019 and March 2023, Tan Hee Meng committed 19 counts of illegally hawking food across the island, said the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) in a statement on Thursday.

The 62-year-old mostly did his selling in the eastern part of Singapore, including near bus stops in Ubi and Bedok, as well as other locations in East Coast Road, Onan Road and Marine Parade Central.

Tan had been convicted of similar offences in 2018, when he was issued a $3,600 fine in default of four days in jail - meaning that he would have to serve four days behind bars if he was unable to pay the fine.

This time, his fine was issued in default of 36 days’ imprisonment.

Stressing that it would take enforcement action against those who sell food illegally, the agency said: “Unregulated street hawking poses a risk to food safety. Food sold may be unsafe as SFA is unable to assure that it meets our food safety requirements.

“In addition, such vendors are transitory and cannot be traced if buyers face problems with their purchases. Through such modes of sales, these illegal street hawkers are in effect passing risks to the unsuspecting consumer to bear.”

Repeat offenders can be fined up to $10,000, jailed for up to three months, or both.

In a separate case, food caterer Orange Lantern Gourmet Kitchen was fined $4,000 for allowing its premises be used as an unlicensed fish processing establishment.

SFA found that on Oct 4, 2022, the caterer’s premises at 1006 Aljunied Avenue 4 was used by Fish Vision Agro-Tech to process fish. But the space had been licensed for food catering, not food processing.

The caterer’s director, Sim Lai Heng, was also fined $4,000 for failing to prevent the offence from being committed.