Debated in Parliament on 15 Aug 2016.
Ms Tin Pei Ling asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources whether forensics, such as DNA analysis, can be made use of to identify recalcitrant high-rise littering culprits so as to curb such highly anti-social behaviours.
High-rise littering is an anti-social and serious offence that dirties the environment and poses safety hazards to the public.
Forensics, such as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analysis, may provide evidence that a person has had contact with a particular piece of litter thrown but this does not directly prove the act of littering. Further investigation would still be necessary to establish the identity of the high-rise littering culprit and prove that the person had, indeed, thrown the litter. It may also be challenging to extract DNA samples from litter that has been exposed to weather elements. Nonetheless, my Ministry is exploring the possibility of using DNA forensics in our enforcement against high-rise littering and will study if there are situations where such technology may be of use.
My Ministry has deployed surveillance cameras in areas with persistent high-rise littering to catch high-rise litterbugs in the act since 2012. When a particular unit from which items have been thrown has been identified, the owner of the unit will be compelled by law to furnish information on the identities of the occupants for our further investigation and necessary enforcement action. More than 2,400 enforcements have been taken against high-rise littering offenders since we started camera deployments in 2012.
The Government takes a serious view of high-rise littering. We will, as far as practicable, continue to adopt the necessary measures and technology to tackle high-rise littering to secure the conviction of high-rise litterbugs.
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