SINGAPORE: Singapore's Law and Foreign Affairs
Minister K Shanmugam has said that the country may need to consider
new ways of dealing with conduct seen as a social
nuisance.
He said this may require a legal framework which
sets out what Singaporeans should avoid doing, so their behaviours
do not unreasonably impact their neighbours.
In his latest Facebook post, Mr Shanmugam spoke of a
recurrent issue which he's come across, when what happens in one
HDB flat impacts the others.
Mr Shanmugam cited a lady who said the singing and drumming from
her neighbour's flat kept her awake.
He said such issues are not new, but the sense is that people seem
to be less willing to put up with such conduct now, compared to
some years ago.
At present, Mr Shanmugam said there is no satisfactory legal
solution to deal with these problems.
Most of such conduct is social nuisance, but not criminal.
Mr Shanmugam said the second approach is for residents to go to the
civil courts, which is not really feasible either.
Thus, there may be a need to come up with new norms.
MP Christopher De Souza said the proposal aims at filling a
gap.
"Presently, if there is an unfortunate breakdown in
neighbourliness, there is redress through the criminal law, for
example through a Magistrate's complaint... Alternatively, the
person could seek civil redress in a Court of Law. Neither option
is ideal if we want to reconcile differences," said Mr De
Souza.
"Therefore, if any framework is brought in, I would sincerely hope
that one of its key aims would be to reconcile differences and mend
ties," he added.
- CNA/cc