S'porean man says NEA officer fined him S$300 for leaving extinguished cigarette butt on top of dustbin

A Singaporean man took to social media to share his experience of getting fined S$300 by a National Environment Agency (NEA) officer for leaving an extinguished cigarette on top of a dustbin.

This reportedly happened along Stirling Road in Queenstown on Nov. 11 after the man had finished work.

What happened

The man said that he had extinguished his cigarette while on the way to an MRT station, placing it on top of a dustbin which did not have an ashtray.

The man said that an NEA officer allegedly approached him, asked him to stop, and showed him his pass.

The officer informed him that he was supposed to throw his extinguished cigarette into the bin rather than leaving it on top and asked for his identification.

After complying, the man said he saw the officer keying in information into the system.

The officer then printed and handed him a receipt for a S$300 littering fine on the spot, the man alleged.

"If he could just tell me to take the cigarette and throw it back inside, I would have done it," the man said.

He added that he was a first-time offender.

'Didn't want to cause a fire by throwing inside': Man

In response to comments on the video, the man explained that he had placed the cigarette on top of the bin to prevent a fire if it was not extinguished properly.

He added that he was not aware that it is an offence to place cigarettes on top of bins which have no ashtrays.

The man also said that he would appeal the fine.

Yes, it's illegal in Singapore

By Singapore law, it is an offence to leave litter around or on top of a bin.

Under the Environmental Public Health Act, litter disposed of in a public place must be done so "in a dustbin or other receptacle provided for the deposit of refuse and rubbish".

Otherwise, it constitutes a littering offence.

Additionally, the maximum court penalties for littering-related offences have been doubled since Apr. 1, 2014.

NEA said on its website that it takes strict enforcement action against litterbugs, who will be subjected to a composition amount of S$300 for a first offence.

Top image from iamwolfgrey/TikTok & Reddit