Straits Times Forum 24 Jun 09;
MY FRIEND was recently fined $6,000 by the National Parks Board (NParks) for removing an old mango tree, old rambutan tree and old mangrove tree from his property in a Holland Road area.
He had engaged a contractor from the NParks' list of contractors who assured him that the felling of these common old trees should not be a problem at all.
Unfortunately, NParks thought otherwise.
Personal appeals by the owner, the contractor, and even a letter from an MP - all fell on deaf ears. To avoid an even a heftier fine of $15,000 if the case were to end up in court, my friend reluctantly paid up. It did not help that he had also been retrenched.
While we Singaporeans are generally appreciative of the efforts by NParks to transform Singapore into a Garden City, I feel rather uneasy at the draconian powers vested on it and the punitive manner in which these powers were brought to bear on an unwary citizen.
Patrick Low
