Singapore legislation

Section 57

Power to direct owners or occupiers, inter alia, to cleanse, paint, lime-wash and colour-wash buildings

(1)

Where the Commissioner, the Director-General, a Medical Officer of Health or a Public Health Engineer is of the opinion that any house or building or any part thereof is in an unclean, grimy, neglected, unkempt or insanitary condition, he may by order in writing direct the owner or the occupier or tenant thereof to take all or any of the following measures at the expense of the owner, occupier or tenant within a time and date to be specified in the order:

(a)

remove all refuse, rubbish or garbage within that house, building or part thereof, or in the immediate vicinity of the house or building, to such place, or otherwise dispose of it at such place, as may be specified in the order;

(b)

cleanse the house, building or part thereof, internally or externally, or both internally and externally, and if necessary disinfect it;

(c)

paint, lime-wash or colour-wash the house or building or part thereof, internally or externally, or both internally and externally; and

(d)

carry out such minor repairs and renovations as are necessary or incidental to any work required to be performed under paragraph (c).

(2)

Any owner, occupier or tenant who fails or neglects to comply with all or any of the requirements of such an order within the time and the date specified therein shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 and to a further fine not exceeding $50 for every day during which the non-compliance continues.

(3)

Without prejudice to any proceedings under subsection (2) and whether before or after the commencement or conclusion of such proceedings, or without instituting such proceedings, the Commissioner, the Director-General, a Medical Officer of Health, a Public Health Engineer, or any person authorised in that behalf by any of them, or a public health auxiliary, may enter into the house, building or any part thereof which is the subject-matter of such an order and take or cause to be taken such measures as have been specified in the order, and the costs and expenses thereby incurred shall be paid by the person in default and may be recovered in the manner provided under section 121 or 124.

(4)

The Commissioner, the Director-General, any Medical Officer of Health or Public Health Engineer or any person authorised in that behalf by any of them, or any owner who has been served with an order under subsection (1) or any person authorised in that behalf by the owner, may for the purposes of that subsection enter between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. into and upon any house or building to make any survey or inspection or to execute any work required by the order or authorised by that subsection; and the occupier or tenant thereof shall, for this purpose, render such assistance as may be necessary (including the shifting of movable objects within the house or building) to enable the survey, inspection or execution of such work to be proceeded with and completed as expeditiously as possible.

(5)

No person shall, except with the consent of the occupier or tenant, enter any house or building by virtue of the powers conferred by this section, without at least 6 hours’ previous notice being given to the occupier or tenant.

(6)

Where any order made under subsection (1) contains any direction for the painting, lime-washing or colour-washing of the external part of any building which consists of 3 or more storeys including the ground floor, and the owners, occupiers or tenants thereof are unable to agree on a colour scheme for the painting, lime-washing or colour-washing of the external part of the building, the Commissioner, the Director-General or any officer authorised in that behalf by either of them may, in his discretion, after ascertaining the wishes of the majority of the owners, occupiers or tenants or otherwise, as he may think fit, determine a colour scheme and direct all the owners, occupiers or tenants to adopt that colour scheme.

(7)

Where any painting, lime-washing or colour-washing of the external part of any such building is carried out under subsection (3), the Commissioner, the Director-General or any officer authorised in that behalf by either of them, may, in his discretion, after ascertaining the wishes of the majority of the owners, occupiers or tenants concerned or otherwise, as he may think fit, determine such colour scheme.[58

Read in full context — Environmental Public Health Act →