Oral Reply to Parliamentary Question on Mosquito Breeding Fines by Mr Baey Yam Keng, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and the Environment

Oral Reply to Parliamentary Question on Mosquito Breeding Fines by Mr Baey Yam Keng, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and the Environment

Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) what is the average duration between the time a mosquito breeding site is found and a fine is issued; (b) whether there have been instances where fines were found to have been issued to the wrong households upon appeal; and (c) if so, how many of such cases were there in the past three years.

Answer:

1 For the last three years, the National Environment Agency (NEA) took on average about 5 months to issue a fine after detection of the breeding site. More time is needed for cases that require further investigation, and verification of the individual to be held accountable and issued with the fine. Surges in the number of cases over the past few years, especially years with large dengue outbreaks, have led to longer processing times. My Ministry is currently reviewing the enforcement process with a view to reduce the time taken to issue a fine.

2 From 2020 to-date, NEA has issued fines to about 22,400 households for mosquito breeding offences. Of these, there were four instances (0.02%) where fines were issued to the wrong household due to administrative errors. These cases were rectified immediately when they were made known to NEA through feedback or appeals. NEA will continue to monitor and improve its processes to avoid such errors.