Inspections by HDB, NEA and SCDF to boost checks by town councils
MORE authorities are now weighing in to enforce rules to keep housing estate shopfronts clear of clutter.
Up till now, the job has primarily been the town councils', but the Housing Board, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) have announced that they will team up to mount joint inspections. There are about 15,000 commercial premises islandwide.
The combined checks will complement those by town councils, said a joint statement from the three agencies.
The step-up in the fight to clear shopfront clutter comes on the heels of a Sept 13 blaze at a Hougang Avenue 8 minimart, which killed two siblings.
Arson has been suspected and the hunt for the perpetrators is still on.
While eliminating fire hazards and creating clear fire escape routes appear to be the priority of the new combined effort, NEA officers will also be checking to see that drains are not covered up by goods put on display by businesses.
This is so that they can be cleaned and mosquito-breeding prevented to keep dengue fever at bay.
Commenting on the development, coordinating chairman of the People's Action Party town councils, Dr Teo Ho Pin, said the extra manpower for enforcement would make it clear to all that 'we are very serious about wanting all shops to comply with fire-safety rules'.
Last Monday, Certis Cisco officers started patrolling the more than 800 shops under the Aljunied Town Council's jurisdiction, including where the fire broke out.
A spokesman said two inspections have been conducted at the Aljunied-Hougang Division so far, and in the four days from the start of the sweeps, 10 tenants and owners were served warning letters.
It has worked. Shop owners still grumble about the restrictions on their businesses, but hardly anything is left outside their shops now when the shutters go down. Failure to comply with the outdoor display area guidelines can result in fines of up to $5,000 under the Town Councils Act.
The proprietor of Chin's Optical and Watch at Hougang Avenue 8, who wanted to be known only as Mr Chin, said in Mandarin: 'Things have improved a lot. In the day, shop owners don't dare to push their goods out of the boxes by too much. At night, hardly anything is left outside, maybe just a plastic stool.'
Tampines Town Council, which issued circulars to all shop owners on its enforcement procedures between April and June, has also bared its teeth before those who refuse to comply despite repeated warnings.
As at the end of June, 19 shops in two Tampines neighbourhood centres were made to pay the price - the leases which allow them to display their goods within the yellow-box area outside their shops have been revoked.
Next month, the town council will engage third-party enforcement officers to check on the shops.
A spokesman for the Tampines Town Council, referring to the Hougang fire, said: 'The worst-case scenario that can happen, happened.
'We need to implement a permanent change in how business is done in the local environment,' she said.
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