Amy Khor Lean Suan
Singapore
“Sir, NEA does conduct inspections of these premises from time to time. For this particular premises, they actually did six inspections since 2021.”
“The Land Transport Authority (LTA) conducts enforcement actions against drivers who are found to have provided illegal car-pooling services. An individual who provides an illegal car-pooling service may face a fine of up to $3,000, up to six months' imprisonment, or both.”
“We will also provide the first 500 private heavy vehicle chargers co-funding of up to 50% of the charger installation cost, capped at $30,000 per charger. These measures will narrow the lifecycle cost gap between an electric and internal combustion engine heavy vehicle and spur adoption of electric heavy vehicles.”
“With regard to the extension of the lower speed limit to school zones for full day, we will work with the relevant agencies on the enhanced enforcements.”
“They will provide a certain amount of protection to the pedestrians because, as I have said, the bollards will absorb the impact of the collision from the vehicles. So, there is a protection. But ultimately, of course, road safety really depends on a multitude of factors, including road user behaviour.”
“The bollards installed at pedestrian crossings by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) are not of the K4, K8 or K12 standards stated by the Member. Bollards of these standards are typically security bollards. They are installed to protect critical infrastructure or at high security areas, such as Changi Airport, to be unyielding.”
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“As far as the Khatib case is concerned, initially, when the CCTVs were deployed, they were actually done by the Yishun Town Council, if I am not mistaken. We worked together with the Town Council because this is their basketball court and the problem is generally from the basketball players and there was outreach and education. It did not work. So, last year, NEA came in with our own surveillance cameras and we managed to catch one last year and four this year. We will continue to work with the Member's constituency on this. As to smoking and evidence, as I have said in my reply earlier and also in my appeal that if you do have information, whether it is video footage or photos and so on, you can submit to us. But the feedback provider must be willing to be a witness if there is a need to be in Court.”
“Just let me give Members an example. Last year, there was a pilot project which my Parliamentary colleague Ms Sun Xueling also mentioned earlier in this House, which is with Ang Mo Kio. It is a High-rise Littering/Pigeon Feeding Pilot Project that was carried out for two blocks of flats that had persistent issues with high-rise littering and pigeon feeding. Through a combination of very proactive engagement by the grassroots organisations, together with the Town Council, NEA and the Municipal Services Office (MSO), the grassroots formed a community watch group that actually went to engage every resident in the two blocks to raise awareness about the issue. MSO actually came up with a whole new set of publicity materials, including standees, to raise awareness about the issue, too, and also to inform the residents about the number of people caught in that area for high-rise littering together, of course, with active enforcement. So, we put up surveillance cameras. That has improved the situation in that area significantly, in fact, from 21 cases in the previous six months to about nine cases. So, they are planning to roll out this programme to the rest of the Group Representation Constituency in the coming months. As high-rise littering and pigeon feeding are human actions and require a change in mindset and behaviour, the long-term solution and a more sustainable approach must be greater community involvement, of course, facilitated or complemented by enforcement actions. On CCTVs, as I have said, resources are never unlimited. But having said that, we will deploy surveillance cameras where it is possible and where it needs to be done. On the duration of deployments, as I have said, even in one of the Yishun blocks, we have deployed the cameras multiple times.”
“With regard to stakeouts with no success, in August 2012, as I have said earlier, we started deploying surveillance cameras. Since then, the number of successful enforcement actions has increased about 120 times. So, in 2011, the number of successful enforcement actions was about 10. Last year, in 2018, it was more than 1,200. So, the deployment of the surveillance cameras has helped us significantly. As Members know, with stakeouts, you cannot be there 24/7. So, it really depends on intelligence from the ground for such effective stakeouts. But having said that, the deployment of surveillance cameras is really not the panacea. Surveillance cameras themselves obviously have some limitations, for instance, whether you can find suitable vantage points that you can put them and, of course, safeguarding the privacy of the residents. How effective we are with the surveillance cameras also depends on the information given. For instance, in the case of the sanitary pad issue that the Member talked about for a specific block in Yishun, the information given to us was just a photo of the sanitary pad with no other information about where it is likely to have come from and so on. Therefore, for very high blocks, it is very hard, even with a surveillance camera, because we may not be able to train the cameras at the appropriate floors because the cameras do have a limit as to how many floors they can cover. Therefore, for this particular case, we have deployed the cameras multiple times and, the last time, in August, with no results, if the Member is referring to that. But we will continue to see what we can do together. Also, as I have said before, we cannot just depend on enforcement alone. It has to be coupled with community engagement and education.”
“Then, we would need to decide if we can and should deploy camera surveillance and, if there is a positive hit, we would need to identify the flat owner, for instance, in high-rise littering, interview them as well as the suspects and we need to give a two-week notice in order to get the flat owners and the suspect to be interviewed to take statements. All these will take about four to six weeks. After that, if there is firm evidence, we need to initiate the enforcement proceedings and that takes another three to five weeks. That is where the "10 weeks" is coming from. But in some instances where we have very specific intelligence and very clear evidence, and it is easy to establish the identity of the suspect, for instance, we could take less than 10 weeks to clear the case. So, it really depends. Then, in other cases when it is complex where multiple owners are involved and where multiple rounds of surveillance cameras have to be deployed, it could take longer. We do prioritise our cases and it also depends on the urgency as well as, of course, the evidence available. I would like to urge members of the public that if you do have evidence or information available regarding specific littering incidents, please provide that to us because that will facilitate and shorten our investigation process.”
“First, let me say that I offer my condolences to the family of the victim who passed away due to killer-litter at Spottiswoode 18 condominium. With regard to the length of time we take to investigate, which is what the Member is asking about, as the Member has rightly pointed out, we need to take prompt action. But having said that, we also need to make sure that our investigations are thorough and accurate so that we do not wrongfully prosecute a person. Therefore, there are processes put in place that we need to follow. Just let me put this in context. First of all, NEA oversees a wide spectrum of enforcement offences, of which littering is one. That, of course, includes high-rise littering. In particular, for littering, we receive about 26,000 reports of such incidents per year. With such a large volume of cases and the fact that, of course, resources are not unlimited, we will have to prioritise. So, we do prioritise based on the severity of the littering offence, the type of litter and so on, to take action and investigate. Having said that, let me also explain. I said enforcement action takes at least 10 weeks in general. The reason is because this is actually for the entire enforcement workflow, from the time we receive the feedback to investigation, to prosecuting. When we receive the feedback, first of all, we will need at least one week to verify the information, contact the feedback provider to get witness' statement, for instance.”
“As I have said, there are very stiff penalties for high-rise littering and the fine for repeat offenders for the third and subsequent offence is $10,000 per enforcement action upon conviction. In addition, of course, a CWO can be issued. I do not have specific numbers of the 52 repeat offenders that had gone for CWO. I would assume it is quite a number, but I can give the specific number to the Member separately. As regards to working with HDB, actually there are provisions under the HDB legislation. But these are extreme measures and we really need to consider all factors before the relevant authority can make a decision on this. So, I would not say that definitely this is an avenue that we will take, but it is something that is an available option, depending on the factors of the case, such as, if it is killer litter, it is under the Penal Code, and the Police will investigate and it is even harsher penalties.”
“Many of them conduct ground-up activities, such as litter-picking activities, beach and park clean-ups, and cleaner appreciation days, reflecting the whole-of-society approach needed to keep our public places clean. Residents should also bin their litter properly and contact their Town Councils for assistance in disposing of bulky waste items if they are staying in public estates. The Government will continue with our efforts to develop greater environmental stewardship, but we cannot do it alone. Every one of us must do our part to keep Singapore a clean, green and sustainable home for our future generations.”
“These cameras have contributed significantly to improving NEA’s enforcement effort. Between August 2012 and December 2018, more than 2,200 offenders were caught for high-rise littering, of whom 52 were repeat offenders. Stiff penalties are in place to deter high-rise littering. First-time offenders can be fined up to $2,000 for each offence, whilst recalcitrant offenders face fines of up to $10,000 or Corrective Work Order (CWO) in addition to, or in lieu of, a fine upon conviction. Last year, about 2,600 CWOs were issued for all littering offences. Since May this year, NEA has also introduced standees with CWO-related information during CWO sessions and revamped the design of the CWO vest which offenders don to raise public awareness about CWO, increasing the deterrent effect. The public can report high-rise littering offences through various channels. Members of the public can call NEA's hotline or submit information or evidence of an offence, such as photos and video footage, through the myENV mobile application. While we have laws to deter littering and other environmental offences, it is more important that we foster collective responsibility for our environment and cultivate positive social norms. To this end, NEA has been working closely with the Public Hygiene Council and partners of the "Keep Singapore Clean" movement to inculcate the habit of keeping our homes and neighbourhoods clean. Significant resources are devoted to engaging a wide range of stakeholders, including residents, schools, communities, grassroots organisations, private and public organisations, as well as foreign workers.”
“Thank you. The National Environment Agency (NEA) received about 26,000 and 2,700 reports of littering and indiscriminate disposal of bulky items in public places respectively in 2018. Enforcement action is taken when there is substantiated evidence. To this end, NEA first assesses whether sufficient leads are available from the feedback before investigating further. As part of the investigation process, NEA may interview witnesses and suspects, and conduct stakeouts and patrols to identify the offender and ascertain culpability. Cameras may also be deployed, where feasible, to monitor the situation and aid investigations. Once sufficient evidence against the offender is collected, enforcement action will be taken. Depending on the complexity of the case and the response time of the feedback provider and suspected offender, this process generally takes between 10 weeks to six months for most cases. In 2018, NEA took about 39,000 enforcement actions against littering in public places, and another 30 for the unlawful disposal of bulky items in public places. To the Members' questions on high-rise littering in particular, more than 7,700 reports of such offences were made to NEA between 2016 and 2018. These figures have remained relatively stable over the past few years, hovering between 2,300 and 2,800 each year. In most cases, the situation improved following outreach efforts conducted by NEA, Town Councils and grassroots organisations to caution residents against committing such acts. However, there are some who persist with such inconsiderate acts despite our education efforts. To address this, NEA has, since 2012, deployed surveillance cameras with video analytics to catch offenders in the act.”
“They are also liable to imprisonment, or both. As for the second question, I think I have answered it, which relates to when Written Approvals will be revoked. Written Approvals will be revoked, for instance, when they discharge a dangerous or hazardous toxic substances. First of all, we may issue an immediate stop order, so that they do not discharge dangerous toxic effluent. Then, if they are very egregious, we will revoke the Written Approval, which means that if they want to continue business, they will have to engage the services of a licensed toxic industrial waste collector.”
“Regarding the first question about repeat offenders with multiple offences, let me first say that Written Approvals for companies to discharge trade effluent into our public sewers, currently, have been given to about 5,000 premises or companies. As I have said earlier, the majority actually comply with the requirements under which they can discharge trade effluent into the public sewers. But from time to time, there are some who do not comply. PUB takes this very, very seriously. PUB manages about 3,500 kilometres (km) of sewers, and used water is a resource. PUB needs to ensure that every drop of used water that goes into our water reclamation plants does not disrupt the water reclamation process. Of course, it also takes seriously the potential impact on the environment as well as the harm, for instance, to the staff managing the water reclamation plants. Therefore, stringent enforcement is carried out, together with a suite of measures. In the context of the 5,000 Written Approvals, as well as the fact that there are 3,500 km of sewers, the suite of measures, as I have said, include online sensors for early detection and unannounced onsite surveillance visits. For repeat offenders, we would increase the onsite surveillance visits to as often as even twice a month, if need be. Some of them may be required to put in, install their own online water quality monitoring sensors, for instance. For some of these repeat offenders, we also engage them closely to try and ensure that these do not happen again. It may happen for various reasons. Enhancements to the enforcement regime and penalty regime have also been made. So, they are not just liable to a fine of up to $50,000 or $100,000 if they discharge hazardous, toxic substances into our public sewers.”
“I think what we have put up is what is useful to the public, not some of the details. But obviously, we can share with Members some of the methodologies. This is actually commissioned by NEA.”
“We have actually shared a life cycle assessment study at various opportunities. The one that I have just quoted is a British government study, which is also available publicly.”
“Let me thank the Member for his comments. As I have said, we will continue to monitor developments on this front. We have just strengthened our efforts in terms of the campaign as well as we are going to put in place mandatory reporting upstream to remove packaging waste upstream to remove the amount of packaging used and packaging waste generated and then implement an EPR framework, latest by 2025. So, let us look at how these policies and measures will pan out in terms of effectiveness of reducing the amount of disposables. I would like to say that we will continue to monitor reception, for instance, to ideas about charging for plastic bags. Firms, supermarkets, retailers and so on can already do this on their own volition, and we will support them. Our feedback has not been as if it is overwhelmingly that charging for plastic bags is the way to go. In fact, every time when there is an issue on this, there will always be views from both sides of the camp. And when we look at this, as I have said, there are actually good reasons that single-use plastic bags have to be given, for instance, or used by the public for bagging their waste and so on. And therefore, the issue is really about excessive use; not that you cannot use plastic bags but excessive use of plastic bags.”
“I thank the Member for his comments. Not to repeat myself, again, let me say that we are taking into account our own local unique context. And for the various reasons that I have listed earlier and shared, we are taking the approach of actually not singling out single-use plastics. Charging for single-use plastic bags will be singling out just plastics. Therefore, we are looking at how we can reduce excessive consumption of all types of disposables, including plastics, of course.”
“In fact, the British government has estimated that a cotton tote bag would have to be used for 173 times before its greenhouse gas emission impact improves beyond that of the plastic bags that we use to line our bins. So, we are actually focusing on reducing all types of disposables and doing it upfront, for instance. Finally, let me also say that we have a very strict anti-littering regime. We also have a very comprehensive and integrated waste collection and disposal system, and we have measures in place to address the issue, for instance, of marine litter pollution and micro-plastics, because we have litter traps to trap the waste or litter that may get into the oceans. We have beach, coastal and underwater clean-ups, and we have flotsam removal craft that we use regularly. Therefore, we are moving upstream. As I have said, we have strengthened our efforts on this front in various ways to the "Say YES to Waste Less" campaign as well as the mandatory reporting and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework in future. In fact, for the "Say YES to Waste Less" campaign, what we are really doing is to work with our partners and get our partners to come up with ground-up programmes to discourage the use of disposables and encourage the use of reusables, either by incentivising consumers or charging for single-use plastic bags, as some had done, or not using plastic bags at all.”
“First, I must say that, coming from Er Dr Lee Bee Wah, this is pretty good news, commending MEWR for our work as well as giving me feedback that the residents are asking why we are not charging for plastic bags. As I have said earlier in my reply, we are interested and are closely monitoring developments on this front, such as how other countries are managing their disposables. We will study their policies and implementation outcome and see how they fit into our local context. But, currently, instead of just singling out single-use plastics – pardon the pun – we are focusing on reducing the excessive consumption of all types of disposables. We think this is a more sustainable approach for various reasons. Let me just highlight a few or reiterate some. Firstly, we incinerate all our waste, including plastic waste. Therefore, we do not face the challenges faced by many other countries which are more reliant on direct landfilling of their waste. We also have use, for instance, for single-use plastic bags. The majority of Singaporeans live in high-rise public housing with the refuse chute and we have worked hard for years to inculcate this habit of bagging your rubbish before you dispose of it, to maintain good public hygiene. We do not want to undo such efforts. Irresponsible disposal is going to lead to public hygiene issues like pest infestation, for instance. Thirdly, our lifecycle assessment study has actually shown that replacing single-use plastic bags, for instance, with other types of disposables, does not necessarily lead to a better environmental outcome because all types of disposables have environmental impacts.”
“Regarding the subsidies, to ensure affordability of treatment for diabetes, just to note that we have just recently, for instance, allowed the test strips for diabetes for Type 1 and Type 2 patients on insulin to be under CDMP. That means that they can claim on MediSave and it also goes under CDMP, through the Community Health Assist Scheme funding, for instance. So, as with healthcare affordability issues, the Ministry will continue to look into ensuring the affordability of treatment and access for the different conditions, including for diabetes. With regard to sugar, Members know that we have undertaken a public consultation on the measures to be taken to reduce Singaporeans' sugar intake, particularly from pre-packaged sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), which was just concluded in January this year. So, we are reviewing the feedback. We received feedback from over 4,000 members of the public as well as from the SSB and media industries. We will review the feedback and also take into account evidence from local and regional studies and then make our decision.”
“Also, as the researchers for these projects often come from multiple organisations, such as academia as well as the healthcare clusters and so on, actually we could take this to be akin to a virtual centre for diabetes research, which tap on the best researchers from Singapore. Nonetheless, we will further study the Member's suggestion and see how useful and appropriate such a dedicated research centre would be.”
“Let me thank the Member for his very useful suggestion. Indeed, I agree with the Member that research is important to inform clinical management and policies as well as for an effective war on diabetes. Currently, there is a fair amount of collaboration among researchers and clinicians within and across the healthcare, academic and research institutions on diabetes with funding from various sources since the war on diabetes. This includes the Growing Up in Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes study which is a collaboration among the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, the National University Health System and the National University of Singapore (NUS) as well as the Pre-DICTED study that I mentioned earlier, which is between SingHealth Duke-NUS Diabetes Centre with HPB and the Singapore Clinical Research Institute. In fact, there are also two research collaborations that have just been funded through the National Medical Research Council Open Fund – Large Scale Collaborative Grant. So, I think that because there is currently sufficient research focus on disease management locally, both in small and large scale research, a current-state mapping of the research landscape for diabetes will need to be done to understand the range of research that has already been funded, and to ensure that the full potential of any research centre to be set up could be achieved without significant overlaps, especially with the large scale research projects that have already been funded.”
“These guidelines help healthcare professionals better perform comprehensive foot assessment and treat diabetic complications in a timely manner. We have also been conducting more local research to understand the effectiveness and impact of our interventions. For instance, Pre-Diabetes Interventions and Continued Tracking to Ease out Diabetes (Pre-DICTED) is a research programme by SingHealth to evaluate the effectiveness of a community-based intervention programme in reducing the conversion rate from pre-diabetes to diabetes. Data from this study can help us develop evidence-based, scalable and effective interventions for better clinical management and policies. While there are early signs of progress in our war against diabetes, we cannot afford to let up our efforts. Many of these initiatives will only achieve the desired health outcomes in the long term. The Government will continue to work with key stakeholders and partners in the public, private and people sectors to sustain our efforts in this war.”
“However, sugar and salt intakes are still causes for concern. Our daily sugar intake remains high at 60 grammes (gm), with drinks, in particular pre-packaged drinks, being the largest single contributor of sugar. The average daily salt intake was nine gm in 2018, with 90% of Singaporeans exceeding the recommended intake of five gm per day. In November 2018, the Government decided to form a HealthySG Taskforce to further promote healthy living and activate the community to support the efforts. The HealthySG Taskforce has recommended several initiatives, including the adoption of technology-enabled, personalised coaching solutions and a lifelong virtual Health Booklet for individuals to track their personal health status. We will also implement a support programme for lower-income families to help them stay healthy. Early detection of diabetes is important, and we encourage Singaporeans to go for regular, age-appropriate screening and follow-up. To make screening more convenient, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has enhanced the Screen for Life (SFL) Programme and recently adopted non-fasting tests which facilitate opportunistic screening. More than 65,000 Singaporeans have benefited from cardiovascular and cancer screening in the 18 months following the enhancement of SFL subsidies in September 2017. This is almost 30 times higher than the number of Singaporeans who have come forward for screening over the preceding 18 months. We have also made efforts to enhance the management of diabetes and reduce related complications. For example, we formulated a national strategy to reduce lower extremity amputations among diabetic patients through timely detection and clinical management. More recently, MOH issued an Appropriate Care Guide on foot assessment in people with diabetes.”
“The War on Diabetes was launched in 2016 to mobilise the whole nation to tackle diabetes. Since then, we have made encouraging progress across prevention, early detection and management of the disease, but much more remains to be done. For more effective prevention, we need to tackle risk factors, such as unhealthy diets and inactive lifestyles. The Health Promotion Board (HPB) has been working with industry partners to expand the coverage of its Healthier Choice Symbol (HCS) Programme and the Healthier Dining Programme (HDP). There are currently more than 3,500 HCS products available across 100 food categories and their sales have been growing at 9% annually. As for HDP, with more partners coming on board, 50% of the stalls across all hawker centres and coffee shops now have at least one healthier option in their menu. To encourage food manufacturers to innovate and reformulate to produce healthier alternatives, HPB has extended the Healthier Ingredient Development Scheme in 2018 to three additional product categories, namely, sugar-sweetened beverages, desserts and sauces. Since then, 11 suppliers have tapped on the grant to produce 62 lower sugar products, helping to improve the availability of healthier options across retail and dining outlets. There are early indications that these efforts are producing some results. For example, more Singaporeans are becoming more physically active. More than 800,000 Singaporeans participated in Season 4 of HPB's National Steps Challenge, four times that in Season 1. Based on the 2018 National Nutrition Survey, our diet quality has also improved. Singaporeans are consuming more unrefined carbohydrates. Unsaturated fat is displacing saturated fat, which has decreased to 36% of total fat consumed in 2018 from 38% in 2010.”
“We received about 50 patients' appeal per year over the last five years. Some of the factors we take into account will be the medical conditions of the female patient, the maternal age, as well as the number of fresh cycles that she had previously undergone.”
“My response will be that, as I have said, even as there are advancements made in AR technology and it is safer and lower risk now to women for the AR procedure, we need to continue to highlight to couples who want children that notwithstanding the advancement in AR technology, the chances of conception, of pregnancy, at older ages have not increased, remain low. The medical risk and adverse pregnancy outcomes also remain. That has to be highlighted, so that they do not have false high expectations of success for such AR procedures at older ages.”
“Let me say that besides Singapore, some countries like Belgium and Israel also impose AR age limits due to medical and social concerns of pregnancy and childbearing at older ages. In Singapore, the current AR age limit of 45 is set based on empirical evidence that shows that the chances of conception are very low at older ages. In fact, for AR success rates, it falls sharply at age 40, from 17.1% for women of ages between 35 and 39, to less than 7% for women from age 40 to 44. And then it falls further to about 4% for women aged 45 and above. In addition, there are also increased medical risks and complications as well as adverse pregnancy outcomes for women of older ages. As I have said in my reply, this is really set to protect the patients' interests. Nonetheless, MOH does consider appeals on a case-by-case basis. For the treatment cycle limit of five fresh cycles for women above the age of 40, again, this is due to concerns of increased clinical risks with older ages, with multiple cycles of ovarian stimulation and oocyte retrieval. Notwithstanding this, as I have also said, we recognise that there have been recent advancements made in AR technology that have actually improved the safety of AR procedures in general, we regularly review these limits and will take into account such technological advancements as well as professional standards of care and other patient factors. It is an ongoing review. So, we will make the announcements if we decide to change these limits.”
“The success rates of Assisted Reproduction (AR) procedures decrease and the likelihood of medical complications and adverse pregnancy outcomes increases with maternal age. It is, therefore, important that patients are well informed of the risks and outcomes of such procedures. To protect patients’ interests, the current age limit for AR procedures, including in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), is set at age 45. However, the Ministry of Health (MOH) considers appeals on a case-by-case basis. In addition, the current IVF limit is set at 10 fresh cycles for women aged 40 and below, and five fresh cycles for women above 40. This is because there are increased clinical risks with multiple cycles of ovarian stimulation and oocyte retrieval. These risks include ovarian hyper-stimulation syndrome, bleeding and infection. We recognise that recent advancements in AR technology have improved the safety of AR procedures in general. The Government reviews these limits regularly and will take into account such technological advancements and other medical and social considerations, including the risk of chronic diseases, pregnancy or delivery complications, and continued low success rates of pregnancy and live births for women of higher maternal age.”
“With regard to the third question on social effects of HPV vaccination, our scan of studies as well as evidence elsewhere shows that there is no evidence that those females who have got HPV vaccine or are vaccinated will have sex earlier or will have more partners than unvaccinated females.”
“Regarding the second question on why a small percentage did not opt in for the HPV vaccination, first, let me say that when parents do not give their consent for the vaccination, we actually contact them to provide them with information of the benefits and importance of HPV vaccination so that they can make an informed decision. As regards the reasons, most of them either say that their daughters had already taken the HPV vaccination or that they prefer to bring them to the primary care clinics themselves for the vaccination. We have a small percentage of less than 1% of parents who actually are concerned with the safety and side effects of the vaccine. But as I have said, we do contact them to provide them with the information on HPV vaccination. Regarding misinformation on vaccination in terms of the safety, efficacy, adverse events or social effects, it is common on the Internet. Parents are encouraged to check and refer to reliable and verifiable sources of information, such as on our HealthHub, which is a one-stop health portal, to get information on health contents, as well as through websites of the World Health Organization, the United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the European Medicine Agency's website and so on. What is also important is that parents ought to actually seek the advice or speak to the doctors who will be best placed to give them advice and provide accurate information. For the school-based HPV vaccination programme, as I have said, parents are provided with the information package which will include information on the safety and efficacy of the HPV vaccine. If they have queries, they can contact us through HPB's helpline.”
“The Health Promotion Board (HPB) rolled-out the national school-based human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme for Secondary 1 female students on 1 April this year. As of 26 April 2019, 25 schools have been covered by the programme. Ninety-three percent of the students in these schools have opted for the vaccine. HPV vaccination has been shown to be safe and effective and is recommended by the World Health Organization and leading health agencies for the prevention of cervical cancer, a serious disease and one of the top 10 cancers among women in Singapore. The Ministry of Health and HPB will continue to highlight the benefits, importance and safety of HPV vaccination to parents and students through public and targeted education programmes. Parents will also be provided with an information package prior to the school visit for vaccination. This includes a factsheet on HPV vaccination, a brochure on the risk and prevention of HPV, and a letter providing information on the HPV school-based programme.”
“As I have said, the Wolbachia technology is still under development and, at the moment, we are undertaking trials and field studies. So, we will have to evaluate the results of Phase 3 of the field study carefully and rigorously before we decide if we should deploy the technology on a larger scale. But at the same time, in terms of production of the Wolbachia-Aedes mosquitoes, we are actually looking, as I have alluded to also in my reply, at production and release through automation, improving the productivity and production efficiency as well as the quality of the Wolbachia-Aedes mosquitoes produced at the production facility. For instance, we work with various companies like Orinno Technology and Verily Life Sciences to develop innovative devices, such as a larvae counter, pupae counter and sorter, adult mosquito sex sorter, mosquito launcher and so on to make it more effective and efficient in producing these Wolbachia-Aedes mosquitoes.”
“I said earlier in my reply that we have a Gravitrap surveillance system. It is deployed island-wide and the idea is to identify where there is a high concentration of Aedes aegypti mosquito population. So, fogging is normally used when there is a dengue cluster, because fogging and misting is to kill the adult mosquitoes and also where there could be a high concentration of mosquito population. The most effective and primary method really is source-reduction, that is, preventing mosquito breeding rather than fogging and misting. But there is a use for fogging and misting, as I have said, during a dengue cluster or when there is a high mosquito population. When there is a dengue cluster, you also have indoor space spraying to kill the adult mosquitoes which may be infected. With regard to fogging becoming a competition amongst condominiums, I think the fogging schedule is determined by the Management Committee of the condominium. So, they need to decide if there is a real need to do fogging so frequently.”
“With regard to scaling and sustainability, I think I have more or less touched on that question.”
“In fact, let me say that, to our knowledge, for countries that have adopted the Wolbachia technology, even though the technology has developed quite quickly, none of them has actually gone beyond field trials into full scale implementation. Australia, I understand, has completed the field trials but they have not expanded the project. Even in Guangzhou, what they have done is similar to Singapore. They have actually just expanded the field trials. Another point that I would like to highlight is that the Wolbachia technology is meant to complement and enhance our existing vector control strategies and not to replace them. So, source reduction and so on are still important and are, in fact, critical to the success of this Project Wolbachia technology and we will have to continue to persist with such efforts in order to restrict and reduce the number of dengue cases. Regarding education, let me say that we are working on educating both the residents within the field trial study sites as well as the general public through various means, such as the mass media, by having articles on the Wolbachia technology, community outreach events as well as seminars. Since 2012, we have organised more than a hundred seminars and outreach events to reach out to academia, the medical and healthcare professionals, teachers, students, non-government organisations, grassroots leaders, members of the public and residents. We also have the Project Wolbachia Learning Journey which we offer to members of the public, students, residents from the study area, to visit our mosquito production facility, so that they will have a better understanding of the processes involved and the production of our Wolbachia-Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. We will continue to do that.”
“I thank the Member for his three supplementary questions. Firstly, regarding why it has taken some time to implement Phase 1 to Phase 3 of Project Wolbachia technology. Let me say that we are actually adopting a systematic phased approach for the field trials because we need to study the various aspects of using this technology. In fact, as I have said in my answer earlier, when we did Phase 1, it gave us valuable information on the deployment of the technology, particularly because we are the first in the world to implement this technology in a tropical, highly urbanised and high-density landscape. From the information that we got about the behaviour of the male Wolbachia-Aedes aegypti, we were able to then implement Phase 2 in terms of where to launch and deploy these mosquitoes to both higher floors and lower floors, as well as having larger areas and buffer sites to improve the suppression of the Aedes aegypti mosquito population. For the Phase 3 field study, as I have said, what we aim to do is to determine how the suppression can be sustained through the seasonal fluctuations of the Aedes aegypti mosquito population and also over a larger study area and in order to determine the number of male Wolbachia-Aedes mosquitoes that is required to sustain the suppression that has been achieved in Phase 2. That is why, for Phase 3, we have actually expanded the study site, the same study sites but to a larger area of 1.6 to 2.2 times. And as I have said, we want to carefully and rigorously evaluate the results to see if the suppression can be sustained, before we consider deploying this on a larger scale.”
“In this phase, NEA expanded the size of the study sites and released male Wolbachia-Aedes mosquitoes at higher floors, in addition to releases at the ground floor. The results showed that a larger release site yielded improved population suppression results. The Phase 3 field study has started in February 2019. NEA has further expanded the study sites at Nee Soon East and Tampines West by 1.6 to 2.2 times. NEA aims to determine if suppression of the Aedes aegypti mosquito population can be sustained in larger areas and if a smaller number of male Wolbachia-Aedes mosquitoes can be released at each residential block to maintain the suppression. NEA is also developing automation for male Wolbachia-Aedes mosquito production and release, to ensure scalability of the technology. NEA will evaluate the Wolbachia-Aedes technology carefully and rigorously before deploying it on a large scale. NEA will continue to provide regular updates on the progress of Project Wolbachia. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our stakeholders, local Advisers, grassroots leaders and volunteers, for your efforts in our dengue prevention initiatives. We continue to see many cases of mosquito breeding in homes. All it takes is a small amount of water, the size of a 20-cent coin, for mosquitoes to breed. With a short breeding cycle of seven days, keeping the mosquito population in check requires the joint efforts of every individual and stakeholder in the community to eradicate mosquito breeding habitats by practising good housekeeping and doing the five-step Mozzie Wipeout. The Government alone cannot prevent dengue transmission in Singapore. We must remain vigilant and work together to keep dengue at bay.”
“First, NEA, together with various agencies represented in the Inter-Agency Dengue Task Force, has stepped up checks and conducted more than 224,000 inspections in the months leading up to the peak dengue season. About 2,900 instances of mosquito breeding were removed. Second, NEA brought forward the launch of the 2019 National Dengue Prevention Campaign to 7 April this year. Together with Grassroots Advisers and leaders and Dengue Prevention Volunteers, NEA has been raising awareness that clean and stagnant water in homes are potential breeding habitats for mosquitoes and galvanising the community to step up dengue prevention efforts. More than 8,500 volunteers have been trained to conduct patrols and house visits to share dengue prevention tips with residents. Technology and innovation are another key pillar in dengue prevention efforts. NEA is conducting trial releases of male Wolbachia-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquitoes to further suppress the urban Aedes aegypti mosquito population in the community. NEA has successfully completed the Phases 1 and 2 field studies for Project Wolbachia in Singapore. The Phase 1 field study was conducted from October 2016 to December 2017 and a 50% suppression of the urban Aedes aegypti mosquito population was achieved. More importantly, this initial phase provided NEA with valuable data on the behaviour of the Wolbachia-Aedes mosquito. This has helped NEA to design more effective release strategies for Singapore’s high-density and high-rise city environment. As a result, the Phase 2 field study, conducted from April 2018 to January 2019, saw a significantly higher level of dengue vector population suppression of 70% to 80%.”
“The National Environment Agency (NEA) has reported 2,200 cases of dengue in the first quarter of 2019. This was more than three times compared to the same period in 2018, but below the number of cases reported during the epidemic years of 2013 and 2014. Neighbouring countries have also reported increases in dengue cases in recent months. Contributing to this situation is a persistently high Aedes aegypti mosquito population in the community, as detected by the NEA Gravitrap surveillance system. As a regional transport hub, Singapore is vulnerable to the transmission of infectious diseases. NEA and the Ministry of Health have put in place a robust surveillance system to detect dengue and other vector-borne diseases. This system comprises vector surveillance, virus surveillance and dengue case surveillance. NEA has an island-wide network of 50,000 Gravitraps to monitor the mosquito population and will add another 14,000 Gravitraps in the second half of 2019. Data from this network guides NEA’s vector control efforts, allowing officers to quickly zero in on the areas with high mosquito population. NEA’s laboratory-based virus surveillance system monitors dengue virus serotypes and provides early alerts when there is a serotype switch. Historically, such switches have preceded large dengue outbreaks. Further, NEA, together with the National University of Singapore, has developed a model which helps us to forecast dengue incidence. This allows NEA to coordinate an effective pre-emptive response to impending dengue outbreaks. NEA anticipates an increasing trend of dengue cases in the warmer months ahead and has taken concerted efforts to stem dengue transmission.”
“So, there may be smells but ambient air quality may be alright. And in this case, we have found throughout the period that ambient air quality based on PSI and PM2.5 has been in the normal to moderate range and PM2.5 reading is normal. The smells can be due to a variety of reasons, depending on whether it is a plantation burning or landfill burning. The other thing would be for VOCs. By themselves, there could be smell or they could be mixed with other chemicals and different smells are produced. But as I have said, there is generally no correlation between the air quality readings and the smells. Regarding flaring – I assume that is what the Member is talking about – there are petrochemical industries in Pasir Gudang. And flaring is a common safety feature in refineries and petrochemical plants. What happens is, during routine maintenance, or when there is either a plant shutdown or startup, you need flaring to prevent the build-up of process gases. Actually, flaring will safely burn these process gases off into carbon dioxide and water vapour so that there would not be any health impact due to this flaring.”
“For the first question on whether we can give more regular updates, first of all, as I have said, on the NEA website as well as on the myENV app, we do provide readings, hourly updates, in fact, of PSI and PM2.5. We monitor that for the five regions – north, south, east, west and central. That will also include the northeast area. If there are any significant variations, for instance, above normal levels, unhealthy levels, we would notify the public with this information. With regard to cross-border environmental pollution, for instance, or smell coming from Johor, we work very closely with our Johor counterparts, that is, DOE Johor and also the Johor BOMBA. We also have continuous monitoring as well as our remote satellite sensing to identify smoke plumes as well as hotspots. But these, obviously, would be for the larger hotspots and smoke plumes that we can detect and, depending on the wind direction, whether they will actually travel down to Singapore. So, for the recent early February to mid-March incidents, because of the northeasterly winds, fires normally occurred in the afternoon. That is how we have spotted it. By the time it comes in in the evening when the wind has weakened or slowed down, as well as the temperatures have cooled, these smells, if there are, would be harder to dilute and disperse because it will be hard to disperse the air pollutants upwards due to the cooler temperature and then the wind does not take it away. So, by daytime, in the morning, the sun is up and the wind speed has gathered strength, it then gets diluted and dispersed away. But let me say that there is no direct correlation or association between the smells – burning smell or chemical smell – and the ambient air quality readings.”
“The Public Utilities Board's (PUB’s) online sensors have shown that the water quality of Johor River, our waterways and reservoirs in the north and north-eastern part of Singapore, as well as the water supply is within normal variations. Onsite inspections and water quality checks have also shown no abnormalities. As a precautionary measure, PUB has installed oil booms at the outlet drains and estuaries along the north and north-eastern coast of Singapore. This incident has no impact on our water supply as the chemical dumping location is outside of our Johor River catchment area, where part of our water supply comes from. There have been no reports of unusual fish mortality at our local fish farms in the Straits of Johor. Singapore Food Agency's (SFA's) tests of seafood samples from these fish farms for compounds, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), VOCs and heavy metals, have not detected any anomalies. Environment pollution is a cross-border issue that requires collaboration between the authorities of both countries. These include the provision of early warnings and environmental monitoring data and guidelines. NEA and SCDF have been in contact with their respective Malaysian counterparts – DOE Johor and the Johor Fire and Rescue Department (BOMBA) – to obtain regular updates on the situation there. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates if there are any significant developments. We will also continue to step up our checks and enforcement to protect our environment and safeguard the health and safety of Singaporeans.”
“Throughout this period, our agencies have been closely monitoring the situation and putting in place precautionary measures to guard against any potential pollution impacts arising from the illegal dumping of chemical waste. We have not detected any pollution impacts on Singapore’s air and water quality or water supply. NEA continuously monitors the ambient concentration of a variety of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) at our air monitoring stations, including at four stations located in the north-eastern region of Singapore. These include benzene, toluene and xylene, as well as other common VOCs from industrial emissions which are also closely monitored by other environmental agencies, such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). NEA has not detected any elevated levels of VOCs. The 24-hour PSI has also been in the Good to Low-Moderate range, while the one-hour PM2.5 readings remained in the Normal range. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) has also deployed its portable stand-off chemical gas detectors at the northeast region of Singapore to detect toxic chemicals and has not detected any toxic chemicals in the air. For water quality, NEA’s continuous buoy-based coastal water quality monitoring sensors deployed along the Straits of Johor have not detected any unusual variation in the key physical, chemical and microbiological water quality parameters. NEA has also taken the additional step of collecting water samples at Pulau Ubin and its vicinity to test additional parameters, including compounds Malaysia has identified due to the chemical waste dumped in Sungai Kim Kim. These compounds have not been detected in our water samples. NEA has also not detected any anomalies in the quality of the waters at our recreational coastal beaches.”
“5 levels remained in the Normal range. According to media reports, since 7 March 2019, more than 3,000 Johoreans fell ill as a result of the illegal dumping of around 20 to 40 tonnes of chemical waste into Sungai Kim Kim, a river in Pasir Gudang. Hazardous fumes caused severe symptoms, including nausea, shortness of breath and vomiting. Thousands needed immediate medical attention and many were admitted to hospitals for treatment. Some were in critical condition and had to be placed under intensive care. Young and vulnerable children were among the worst affected. The authorities closed all 111 schools in the Pasir Gudang district on 13 March 2019 for more than two weeks. Singaporeans watched with deep concern and were saddened by this serious environmental violation, where toxic chemicals were dumped into the river, with little regard for the people who live in the surrounding areas. The chemicals detected in the air samples from Sungai Kim Kim and its vicinity contained chemicals, such as benzene, which is carcinogenic. The Malaysian media has also reported illegal dumping of chemical waste at other sites in Pasir Gudang. According to the Malaysian authorities, they have cleaned up a 1.5 kilometres (km) polluted stretch of Sungai Kim Kim in Pasir Gudang. More than 900 tonnes of soil and 1,500 tonnes of polluted water have been removed. The Malaysian authorities have worked expeditiously to contain the problem, in view of the impact to the environment and to public health. I wish all those affected, in particular, the children, a speedy recovery. Singapore stands ready to provide assistance to the Malaysian authorities if needed.”
“Thank you. Members of this House would be aware of the environmental pollution incidents in Johor over the last two months. In February, the National Environment Agency (NEA) detected hotspots of fires with smoke plumes in Southern Johor through satellite remote sensing. The Department of Environment (DOE) Johor, subsequently alerted NEA to fires at two landfills in Bandar Tenggara and Tanjong Langsat, as well as a fire at Punggai in the area of an oil palm plantation. The resultant smoke plumes, blown by the prevailing northeasterly winds, affected both Johoreans and Singaporeans with intermittent burning smells over the past few weeks. While most of the fires have been put out, NEA continued to detect hotspots in southern Johor. NEA monitors the ambient air quality in Singapore through a network of real-time ambient air monitoring sensors across Singapore. These sensors continuously measure the key air pollutants, namely, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone, particulate matter of both PM2.5 and PM10. The concentrations of these air pollutants are used to compute the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) over a rolling 24-hour period. Since June 2016, NEA has introduced bands and descriptors for the one-hour PM2.5 concentrations, as a guide to help the public better assess the current air quality. The 24-hour PSI and the one-hour PM2.5 readings in the five regions of Singapore and corresponding health advisory are available to the public on the NEA website and myEnv mobile application. Members of the public can use the information as a guide to plan their activities. Between early-February and mid-March when the hotspots were detected in Johor, the 24-hour PSI readings remained within the Good to Moderate range, and the one-hour PM2.”
“Regarding the drugs, if they are toxic, they will have to be disposed of by the specialised industrial waste collectors. Regarding recycling, we will need to work with MOH on this, because, obviously, there are issues of safety and so on with regard to the drugs, for instance, once they are opened, are there issues and so on. So, this is something that NEA will have to work closely with MOH.”
“With regard to the Tanah Merah site for the post-death rites facilities, as I have noted, the environmental impact studies are still in progress. Once the study is completed, NEA will consider the findings, taking into account the public feedback and suggestions as well. We will also look at the concerns of parents, the water sportsmen, as well as some members of the public. So, we will take all these into account before coming to a decision on the proposed post-death rites facilities. So, this is not confirmed yet. We are still looking into it. For the two IAS sites – Choa Chu Kang as well as the Mandai Columbarium and Complex – they are confirmed. That is why I said that they are on track. The facilities will be completed by 2020 and 2021, but we are still in the design and planning stage because we have already undertaken the consultation and we are taking this on board in the design of the facilities. So, once they are ready, we will share with the public.”
“As I have said, under PSTLES, they are already practising procurement taking into account environmental sustainability. So, that is why procuring energy-efficient appliances, equipment, sustainability sourced paper, are all part of PSTLES. Government procurement is for everything. Government procurement principles will be general and the procurement principles are really about transparency, that you need to tender out and so on and so forth. So, these are general principles. But for environmental sustainability, the public sector has already taken the lead by drafting these guidelines on procuring and taking the lead in terms of environmental sustainability, not just in procurement, but also in other areas. With regard to the question about incentivising hawkers to use disposables, we do not have any intention to do that at this present moment, but what we have done is to look at encouraging the existing hawkers to not use disposables for dine-ins. In the case of hawker centres that are already on our Productive Hawker Centres programme, which means they use centralised dishwashing and tray return, they already will not be allowed to use disposables for dine-in. What we are hoping to do now is to work with the Hawkers Association and with the ground to encourage the hawkers to try and get them onto the Productivity Hawker Centre programme. In fact, earlier, I just announced that we will be extending the subsidies for adopting CDW in the existing hawker centres by another two years, of 50% and 30%. That really is to encourage more to come on board. Those that come on board will then not use disposables for dine-in. So, we are looking at how we can encourage more to come on board.”
“I am pleased to announce the site of the Bukit Batok Hawker Centre. It will be co-located with the MND-MOH assisted living residential flats pilot in Bukit Batok Town bounded by Bukit Batok West Avenues 6 and 9 and Bukit Batok Street 41. When completed, this new hawker centre will provide an affordable food option to residents in the area. We welcome the newly-minted Singapore Food Agency (SFA) to the MEWR family come April and look forward to working with the agri-food industry to help forge a great future for the industry from farm-to-fork. Mr Desmond Choo asked what we will do to ensure market-friendly regulations without compromising on food safety. These two objectives are mutually-reinforcing, as food safety is key to developing a thriving agri-food industry. The industry has been supportive of the formation of SFA and has given feedback on how SFA can partner them to support both objectives. One suggestion was the harmonising of licensing standards and streamlining licensing conditions for food businesses along the food value chain. For example, we are looking at how premises carrying out both central kitchen and catering operations can obtain a single licence instead of two. To further develop our agri-food industry, we need to transform it. We will be reaching out to stakeholders in a visioning exercise in the coming months to co-create the future of the agri-food industry together. A better understanding of the emerging challenges facing it will allow us to identify opportunities for collaboration among stakeholders. There are also opportunities in areas, such as digitalisation of food tracing using block chain technologies, and innovations in the production of new foods.”
“I heard that the Min Jiang Kueh literally flew off the trays! In November last year, I had a dialogue with some members of the Hawker Centre 3.0 Committee and other stakeholders, including hawkers. It was suggested that we set up ground-up workgroups to look at issues related to the hawker trade and culture. We are, therefore, facilitating the formation of two workgroups – one to explore ideas to attract and support new entrants to the hawker trade, and another to look at encouraging graciousness and tray return, issues that were also raised by Mr Gan Thiam Poh. The two workgroups will comprise hawkers, food advocates and members from various fields. As part of our productivity efforts, we want to encourage existing hawker centres to adopt measures, such as automated tray return stations integrated with centralised dish washing (CDW) services. At Block 163 Bukit Merah Central, hawkers and cleaners enjoy a reduced workload and a 40% reduction in water bills due to the productivity measures. Currently, stallholders at existing hawker centres receive two years of subsidies under the Productive Hawker Centre Grant to ease the transition to such productivity measures. These will help hawkers realise manpower and cost savings in the longer term. Stallholders have raised concerns about the increase to the full costs of CDW at the end of two years. To help them, as well as encourage more centres to take up CDW, I am pleased to announce that we will provide an additional two years of subsidies at a stepped down rate of 50% and 30% in the third and fourth year respectively. To ensure Singaporeans have continued access to affordable food at hawker centres, we are building 20 new hawker centres by 2027. So far, we have completed seven.”
“We are also enhancing the ISP based on the experience and feedback from our incubation stallholders. To provide greater support for them, NEA has extended the six-month tenure at 50% discount off rental rates to nine months. This is to address feedback that more time is needed to establish their business. We are also piloting the extension of NEA's ISP to SEHCs which can provide guidance to hawkers under the ISP. This leverages their experience and success in supporting hawkers under their own incubation stall programmes, including the provision of mentors for the hawkers. One new hawker joining NEA's ISP is Mr Jim Yeow, who will operate his incubation stall – Mr Louis Ng may be pleased to know – at Yishun Park Hawker Centre, an SEHC, and receive mentorship support from its operator, Timbre. I have tasted his wanton noodles, which are quite exceptional. So, please do try it when the stall opens. Indeed, I have gone around to meet many young aspiring hawkers and am inspired by their entrepreneurship, passion and resilience. Many offer their own brand of tasty hawker food. So, I urge Members of this House and all Singaporeans to support them. Today, I had specially arranged for Cheng Tng from XX Dessert and Min Jiang Kueh or pancakes with fillings like Thai Milk Tea and Belgian chocolate besides the classic peanut filling from Munchi Delights to be served at the Members Room. Both stalls are located at Yishun Park Hawker Centre. In particular, XX Dessert is run by Yishun Park Hawker Centre's youngest hawker, 23-year-old Mr Peh Zixuan. He started out under Timbre's incubation stall programme after completing his National Service. So, you could say he truly turned from "Ah Boy to Man". I hope Members will have a chance to enjoy these during the teabreak.”