Singapore is known for being a clean and green city.
But this title does not come easy. Every day, cleaners, volunteers, and responsible citizens contribute in different ways to keep our island city clean.
For a 62-year-old retiree living in Tampines, he fulfils his duties as a civic-minded citizen by catching litterbugs.
And Mr Tan definitely has a knack for it. Each month, the retiree allegedly reports about 80 litterbugs to the National Environment Agency (NEA).
62-year-old Mr Tan has been crowned as the ‘King of Reporting’, and for good reason.
According to Shin Min Daily News, the Tampines retiree catches about 80 litterbugs red-handed on camera every month.
And his reports aren’t limited to petty littering. Be it killer litter, inappropriate spitting or tossing of cigarettes, if he catches it, he reports it.
However, his reporting feat does not come without work.
Almost 24 hours a day, Mr Tan sits by his window armed with a camera, ready to catch anyone who litters.
Mr Tan lives at an HDB block along Tampines Street 83, reports Shin Min Daily News.
His unit is conveniently located right above an open-air carpark, perfect for his reporting endeavours.
Each time someone litters, whether it is a small piece of paper or a cigarette butt, Mr Tan will be sure to catch it on camera before submitting the relevant evidence to NEA.
Sometimes, he even takes down the alleged perpetrators’ car plates for good measure.
The 62-year-old first started doing this back in 2017 when someone fed the pigeons in the area on a daily basis, leaving behind a mess.
As he tried to record the scene as evidence, he inevitably noticed that many were littering at the carpark.
Since then, the retiree took it upon himself to catch the litterbugs.
According to Shin Min Daily News, NEA even sends the seasoned ‘reporter’ a form to keep track of his recordings
However, there has since been backlash about Mr Tan’s work.
The retiree has allegedly been exposed on social media. In some cases, disgruntled members of the public who were reported by him would even turn up at his doorsteps.
But, Mr Tan simply doesn’t respond.
He maintains that he comes from a good place, wanting to reduce the number of litterbugs in the area.
At times, he can’t help but feel disappointed whenever he catches a repeat offender.
Despite the backlash, The retiree believes that he is simply performing his duties as a citizen.
Furthermore, he adds that he is only taking photos at the public carpark.
On one occasion, police officers have even inspected the contents of his camera and proven his innocence.
Though Mr Tan might receive lots of negative feedback for his work, his intentions seem to come from a good place.
Anyway, if you are not breaking the law, you have nothing to worry about.
What do you think of Mr Tan and the work he does? Let us know in the comments down below.
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Featured image adapted from Google Maps.
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