Smoker given record fine for throwing cigarette butts from window of home

Courts in Singapore have applied a record fine for a man who was repeatedly throwing cigarette butts out of his home, the National Environment Agency (NEA) have said.

The 38-year-old man was fined S$19,800 (£10,000, $16,000) and sentenced to five hours of Corrective Work Order for committing 34 acts of high-rise littering at Compassvale Walk. He was fined S$600 (£300, $480) for each of the 33 offences, and the Corrective Work Order was meted out for one offence.



The NEA had received five instances of feedback on high-rise littering at the block of flats, but the problem persisted despite stakeouts by the agency’s officers and many “educational rounds” by the town council and a grassroot organisation. The agency did not specify what took place during those rounds.

A surveillance camera was installed and it caught the man repeatedly throwing cigarette butts out of his unit’s window. NEA said that it received about 2,500 complaints about high-rise littering in Singapore in 2014, the most common litter being cigarette butts, tissue paper and food waste. It has stepped up its enforcement, outreach and education efforts and has installed cameras at close to 600 locations.