On Sunday (23 Aug) morning, a passer-by confronted an alleged litterer after he threw a plastic wrapper from a cigarette pack onto a road in Jalan Besar.
The incident, which was captured on a nearby CCTV, happened around 8.15am.
Jalan Besar resident Wendy Chan caught the man in the act.
In a video posted on Complaint Singapore, a man with a backpack was seen walking along an alley.
He fumbled with something in his hands before tossing it onto the ground.
Source: Complaint Singapore on Facebook
In an exclusive with MS News, Ms Chan said that she was watering plants nearby and happened to walk behind the man.
She claimed that she knew the man threw the plastic wrapping of a cigarette pack as she had seen others do the same.
Ms Chan, who is seen holding a blue watering can, walked into frame and called out to the man.
She then picked up the plastic litter before confronting the man.
Source: Complaint Singapore on Facebook
Speaking to MS News, Ms Chan said that she called out “hello” to the man several times before he turned around.
She asked him: “Why did you throw this?”
The man, who Ms Chan believed to be a foreign worker, denied committing the act.
According to Ms Chan, she told the man that she saw it all since she was walking right behind him.
She replied: “No need to tell me silly excuse. Put it in the bin.”
Source: Complaint Singapore on Facebook
Furthermore, Ms Chan noted that there were “so many dustbins” around the area.
After hearing her words, the man became quiet before taking the cigarette pack from her and throwing it into the bin.
Source: Complaint Singapore on Facebook
While confrontation can be scary to some people, this was not Ms Chan’s first rodeo.
In May, Ms Chan confronted a group in a park in Little India after they had seemingly intended to leave their litter on a grass patch.
She has also earned the reputation of being a “litterbug vigilante” over the years.
In an exclusive with MS News, Ms Chan shared that these incidents “happen so often”.
Source: Wendy Chan on Facebook
She mentioned that the issue of littering in Singapore has become “horrendous” over the last six months.
Ms Chan claimed that people have taken the issue to authorities, but reports have mostly been dismissed.
Source: Wendy Chan on Facebook
“There is zero enforcement. Hardly any of them are taken to task or fined,” she told MS News.
Littering is littering. It doesn’t matter who you are.
Source: Public Hygiene Council
Ms Chan suggested: “Instead of telling people [to pick up other people’s trash], teach them that littering is an offence and keep the environment clean.”
While educating the public can be helpful, she felt that this can only work “to a certain point”.
If it doesn’t hurt, they will never learn.
National Environment Agency (NEA) maintains strict enforcement against public health offences.
Litterbugs in Singapore will be subjected to a S$300 fine for a first-time offence.
Also read: 2 S’poreans among 16 people sentenced to pick up trash for 2 hours for littering in Johor
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Featured image adapted from Complaint Singapore on Facebook.