Dealing with Offenders who Have Been Repeatedly Issued Notices for Severe Breaches of Fire Safety Regulations

Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Home Affairs what is the Singapore Civil Defence Force's policy for dealing with offenders who have been repeatedly issued notices of offence for severe breaches of fire safety regulations.

Sir, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) adopts an escalatory approach in enforcing against breaches of fire safety regulations.

It issues abatement notices or impose composition fines for minor cases of non-compliance. Higher fines are imposed for repeated instances, and prosecution in court may follow if the errant party fails to rectify the non-compliance. An example of a minor non-compliance would be undertaking minor partition works that affect the fire safety design of a space without seeking approval from SCDF.

For more serious breaches and repeated offences of serious breaches, SCDF will consider prosecution. An example of a serious breach is erection of illegal structures that would seriously compromise escape in the event of a fire.

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. In view of the recent fire at the Kranji warehouse, does the Ministry feel that there is a need to adopt a tougher position against repeat offenders?

Sir, we have always taken, like what I shared earlier, an escalatory enforcement approach. In cases like the one that the Member referred to, and also as shared by my colleague Dr Amy Khor, whereby the SCDF went to inspect 10 times during the said period. And all the non-compliance issues were rectified.

So, we work with with the owners, and like what I shared in my answer, if there are serious breaches, we will take them to task. We will look at the setting, the context and at the same time, we will not hesitate, not only in taking action but will continue to do inspections, making sure that they are safe.

I think at the end of the day, every case is unique and we not only take an escalatory approach, we are very serious about this, because fires not only cause damages, lives may be lost. We are very serious and we will continue to ensure that fire safety is well adhered to by owners.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Can I ask the Minister of State for serious cases of persistent reoffending, would the Ministry consider, if necessary, working with other agencies or Ministries to consider imposing a business suspension to deter reoffending?

Sir, we do work with our agencies and partners. What is key, like what I said earlier, is an escalatory approach. While we can use our levers, we also have our other agencies who can use their levers. At the end of the day, fire safety is critical. We do not compromise because what is key is that we want to make sure that while they are able to continue their business, lives are not at risk.