Debris Rains Down From Guillemard HDB Block, Police Arrest Alleged High-Rise Litterbug

Glass, Iron Bars & Pillows Among Items Found, 64-Year-Old Arrested

The majority of Singaporeans live stacked on one another in high-rise HDB housing.

While it’s comfortable for most, anti-social behaviour like throwing “killer litter” can unfortunately make it a hazard.

A block near Gulliemard Road has sadly become sort of a “black zone”, as at least 3 incidents of high-rise littering have been caught on camera involving various debris.

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The police have arrested an alleged culprit, a 64-year-old man.

Latest incident on 18 Mar

The block with this unhappy reputation is 52 Cassia Crescent, located next to Guillemard Road and a stone’s throw away from Old Airport Road Food Centre.

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The latest incident happened as recently as Friday (18 Mar), according to Lianhe Zaobao.

A resident named Mr Lin told the paper that about 11.25am that morning, various items including iron rods were thrown down.

When Mr Lin brought Zaobao’s reporters to the scene, it had already been cleaned up.

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However, some glass fragments remained on the ground.

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3 police cars came on the scene

When the police was called, a total of 3 police cars arrived on the scene.

They proceeded to arrest a male resident living in the 4th floor of the block.

Mr Lin described the man who was taken away as “dark-skinned and thin”.

The police confirmed to Zaobao that a 64-year-old man was arrested on charges of reckless conduct.

While nobody was been hurt, they’re still investigating the incident.

Roof of covered walkway filled with rubbish

When reporters visited the area outside the alleged culprit’s flat, they made another startling find.

The roof of the covered walkway underneath the unit was filled with all sorts of rubbish.

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From the photos taken, it seems that among the things that were allegedly thrown were clothes, pillows, face masks, a small rug and even a mop.

NEA warned of previous incidents

Besides Friday’s incident, there have apparently been others – and they’ve not escaped the attention of the authorities.

The Marine Parade Town Council put up a notice in Jan, saying it had been noticed that residents were throwing rubbish out of their windows.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) also put up notices in lift lobbies, saying they received many reports of high-rise littering.

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CCTV catches 3 incidents

In response, the NEA set up their famed CCTV surveillance cameras at the block.

Thanks to these devices, which can capture offences even under poor lighting conditions, 3 high-rise littering incidents were found.

Enforcement action will be taken against the individual or individuals behind the acts, NEA said.

If 3 incidents can be found in just one camera deployment, who knows how many incidents in total there have been at the block?

A problem that won’t go away

High-rise littering is not only elfish and inconsiderate and makes one’s estate unsightly and disgusting, it can be very dangerous too.

In recent years, we’ve thankfully not had any injuries due to killer litter.

But considering this is a problem that has gone on for decades in Singapore, it’s shameful that a supposed first-world country like ours still has to deal with it.

Hopefully, Singaporeans will evolve in time to put this issue behind us as soon as possible.

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Featured images adapted from Shin Min Daily News on Facebook.