Corrective Work Order for First-Time Littering Offenders

Mr Lim Biow Chuan asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources whether the Ministry will consider imposing a Corrective Work Order for first-time offenders rather than a higher fine to deter people from littering.

The Corrective Work Order (CWO) regime was introduced in 1992 as a means to punish recalcitrant littering offenders and to increase the offenders' awareness of the broader impact of littering, including the difficulties faced by the cleaners. NEA's data shows that the CWO has been an effective deterrent against recalcitrant litterbugs as only 2.5% of those offenders who had served the CWO were caught littering again.

On Member Lim Biow Chuan's suggestion to impose a CWO on the first-time offenders, we had, in fact, considered this option recently when we reviewed the penalty regime for littering. After much consideration, we decided to impose a higher fine on first-time offenders and to retain the CWO as a punishment for more recalcitrant litter-bugs who require harsher measures to get them to change their behaviour. Since 2012, CWO has been performed at places where the littering offences take place for greater visibility and awareness. They have also been scheduled on weekdays instead of weekends, to make the CWO more onerous.

My Ministry will continue to persist with our education efforts, monitor the situation and review the penalty regime for littering again, if necessary.

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