‘Hero of Justice’: Retired man who takes photos and catches litterers every day became a local hero

SINGAPORE: Who would’ve thought that being retired could bring up an opportunity to be called a “Hero of Justice”? This is what happened to a man who lives in Tampines, who used this season of his life to film violations such as littering and illegal parking from inside his HDB unit. He then submitted such evidence to the authorities, and the residents who committed the crime have received the appropriate fines for their actions.

As reported by Shin Min Daily News, a 68-year-old resident has admitted that he has noticed uncivilised behaviours from his unit for several years now. This includes other residents littering cigarette butts, spitting, and parking their vehicles outside the parking space lines. Given that he can’t stand such inappropriate acts, he took photos as evidence. 

The resident declared: “Every morning, noon and evening I look out the window at home to observe. Whenever I see illegal activities, I take a picture with my camera and submit it to the authorities.” 

Furthermore, he claimed that he had also written his observations and set aside one day every month to drive more than an hour to the National Environment Agency’s office and hand over the records and evidence that he had compiled. 

He remarked that when he first started filing reports about littering, he could catch 40 to 50 people each month. However, the situation improved, and the number of reports decreased to 20 to 30. 

Meddling with other people’s business

Despite the good intentions of the resident’s actions, this initiative did not sit well with other residents. One resident, a 60-year-old private hire car driver, received four tickets so far and paid about $1,000. He just learned from a cleaner that the elderly man was the one taking the photos and reporting them to the relevant authorities. In an interview, he admitted that the man’s actions question the value of privacy. 

However, even if no one has ever thanked him for his efforts for the betterment of the community, the elderly resident claimed that he will continue doing what he was doing. 

“As long as I see it, I will catch it. Protecting the environment is everyone’s responsibility. If you want to be a litterbug, I will catch you,” he said. 

Other related news 

In similar news related to public violations, a coffee shop located on Beach Road continues to struggle with smokers who ignore no-smoking signs around its premises. 

Besides making the place look untidy, the cigarette butts also do not decompose naturally and should not be discarded in flower pots.

Read more about the news story here.