Ng Lian Cheong Channel NewsAsia 23 Feb 14;
SINGAPORE: The number of complaints related to high-rise littering cases has increased by 50 percent over the past four years.
Some residents at Dover Crescent said the installation of surveillance cameras there have helped improve the problem.
The area was one of the top littering hotspots last year. Others include Sims Avenue and Toa Payoh Lorong 1.
But experts said the effectiveness of cameras remains to be seen, especially in cases where faces of offenders are not captured.
Technology may be the key to catching these litterbugs.
Liak Teng Lit, chairman of Public Hygiene Council, said: "The police have been using DNA technology for more serious crimes for a long time. You can use saliva samples, for example, to identity the DNA, and any other biological fluids you can get, you can (use it to) connect to them (offenders)."
Recalcitrant litterbugs can be fined up to S$10,000 under the amended Environmental Public Health Act.
For first-time offenders, the maximum penalty has been doubled - from S$1,000 to S$2,000.
The changes to the Act were passed in Parliament earlier last week.
- CNA/xq
