Roadside fruit for elderly, disabled

Plucking fruit without permission an offence
Feng Zengkun Straits Times 26 May 11;

THE low-hanging fruit on roadside trees may be tempting but do not pluck them - unless you have permission - for it is meant for the elderly and disabled, the National Parks Board (NParks) says.

It told The Straits Times yesterday that the harvest is given to its adopted charity, the Handicaps Welfare Association (HWA), which provides activities and rehabilitation for 1,900 people.

NParks was responding to queries from The Straits Times after users of citizen journalism website Stomp came across several people taking fruit from trees in the past month.

Of the 25,000 roadside fruit trees planted by the Government, many are mango trees - found mainly in Tampines, Hougang and Aljunied - which bear fruit at this time of the year.

Other fruit trees include coconut, jackfruit and rambutan.

Plucking fruit without permission is an offence which carries a fine of up to $5,000. But NParks said no one has been fined in recent years.

In the past month, three people have been caught on camera helping themselves to mangoes from trees in Aljunied, Tampines and Hougang.

Residents said these people may have done so thinking the fruit would go to waste otherwise.

Fruit that becomes ripe and falls to the ground can cause the area to become dirty and smell, some noted.

Mr Kelvin Cher, 28, an engineer who lives in Aljunied, occasionally sees smashed mangoes in the area.

'The floor becomes very sticky and attracts flies,' he said.

But NParks said its officers check the trees as part of their duties and monitor the ripeness of the fruit.

They tell the agency's subcontractors to harvest the fruit every two to three months, taking the ripe and almost ripe ones.

Mr Jason Rodrigo, 43, an assistant manager at HWA, said it gets two truckloads of fruit after every harvest and distributes it to its members.

'Some of them take the fruit home to make salads for their families,' he added.

NParks, which previously did not collect the fruit, said it started donating it after a particularly heavy fruiting season in 2009.

It added that it discourages people from taking the fruit themselves because they may not do so properly and could end up damaging the trees.

It said most people throw rocks or use bamboo poles to dislodge the fruit, which can tear the tree's bark and expose it to viruses.

Some fruit is also left unplucked for the native animal population. For example, the Asian glossy starling, a small bird, relies on soft fruits such as mango and papaya.

The agency said people who want the fruit should seek permission through residents' associations (RAs) or residents' committees (RCs).

It said it has no formal programme with these organisations, but that they occasionally seek the green light to harvest the fruit.

It declined to give the numbers that have approached it in total or on average, but said four RAs and RCs had contacted it in the past year. NParks will work with these organisations to make sure the fruit is properly harvested.

Mr Tan Teng Chuan, 55, chairman of Tampines Green RC, said he approaches the agency for permission to harvest the fruits when they ripen, usually in June.

He said: 'After we get the approval letter, we have gardeners in the committee who use professional, long fruit-cutters.'

Mr Tan added that the residents spread a net underneath the trees to catch the fruit.

'Usually, we give them to residents at the area's senior citizens' corner,' he said.

Several people The Straits Times spoke to were unaware that it is an offence to pluck roadside fruit, or that NParks gives it to a charity.

Mr Mervyn Chung, 30, a Serangoon resident, said: 'Usually you think, it's just fruit on a tree. So what if somebody takes one or a few?

'But now if I see someone taking the fruit, I might try to stop him,' said the teacher.