Preventing High-rise Littering

Ms Tin Pei Ling asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) whether he can provide an update on the review of the installation of high-rise littering surveillance cameras; (b) whether the trend of high-rise littering has fallen or remained status quo; (c) what does the Ministry plan to do with blocks observed to experience high incidence of high-rise littering; and (d) whether the Ministry will consider penalising owners of flats where the littering originates without having to identify the culprits on camera for action to be taken.

High-rise littering is an anti-social and dangerous act. Since the rollout of surveillance cameras in September 2012, NEA has received about 700 to 800 complaints every month.3 In July 2013, NEA successfully prosecuted three high-rise litterbugs who were caught on its surveillance cameras; each litterbug was fined $600 by the court.

Surveillance cameras are usually installed at HDB blocks where persistent high-rise littering incidents have been reported. To achieve a greater deterrence effect, NEA will no longer inform the residents of when surveillance cameras will be installed at their block, and when it will be removed. This means that there will no longer be advance warning for recalcitrant litterbugs.

Page: 112

I thank Ms Tin for her suggestion to allow NEA to take action against owners of flats where the littering originates, even if we cannot identify the exact culprit on camera. MEWR and NEA will study the feasibility of this seriously.

Even though NEA has surveillance camera capability, cameras should only be used as a last resort. As I have mentioned before, our primary line of defence must still be the cultivation of social graciousness and a sense of collective responsibility for the safety of our neighbourhoods.