Netizen complains after seeing Woodlands stretch littered with cigarette butts, calls smokers who litter ‘pathetic’

A netizen posted a photo over social media of a curbside littered with many cigarette ends that appear to have been thrown haphazardly by people who don’t bother to dispose of them properly.

The photo had been taken at Woodlands, wrote the netizen, who goes by Heatherstone JC Chan on Facebook, posting it on the Complaint Singapore page on Saturday (Sept 24).

“I am not against smokers but ppl who do this are pathetic. I’m talking about the whole stretch littered with butts. C’mon what the heck. Wake up ur ideas. Loc : Woodlands,” he wrote.

A commenter wrote that they “totally agree(d)” adding that students do the same thing at the bus stop of Temasek Polytechnic, near the main gate, where they catch the bus every day.

Another called it “truly disgusting,” and “Damn inconsiderate.”

However, some commenters called the poster out for being judgmental and “picking on smokers.”

Others called the complaint pathetic.

One said that the complaint should be made to the NEA (National Environmental Agency) and not over social media.

And as the comments on the post got heated, one netizen tried to explain that the complaint is not against smokers but against litterbugs.

There are “No excuses to litter,” he added.

Cigarette butts must be disposed of in the correct manner in Singapore. Proper care must be taken because cigarette ends are lighted materials that could cause fires. 

Under the Criminal Law Reform Act, which was passed by Parliament on May 6, 2019, anyone who does not dispose of such materials correctly and a fire breaks out within an hour at or in the vicinity of the place where the person threw the material, will be presumed to have caused or substantially contributed to the risk of a dangerous fire.

“Everyone has a part to play in upholding high standards of cleanliness and public health in Singapore,” the NEA said in July.

“The National Environment Agency (NEA) takes strict enforcement action against those who are caught littering. Under the Environmental Public Health Act (EPHA), any individual who commits a littering offence is liable on conviction to a court fine of up to $2,000 for a first conviction, $4,000 for a second conviction and $10,000 for the third and subsequent convictions. The court may also impose a Corrective Work Order (CWO), requiring offenders to clean public areas for up to 12 hours. These penalties are reviewed from time to time.”

In May of last year, a Singaporean man, 49, was convicted by the State Courts and fined $3,600 as well as sentenced to perform 12 hours of corrective work for throwing a cigarette butt in a public place after his eighth conviction for littering.

/TISG

COMPLAINT | Hundreds of cigarette butts littering in HDB common space