Singapore legislation
Section 24A
Section 24A
Dangerous slopes
(1)
If the Commissioner of Building Control is of the opinion that any natural, formed or man‑made land or slope which abuts or is in close proximity to any building is in such a condition as to be dangerous or likely to be dangerous to the building, the Commissioner of Building Control may, for the purpose of obviating any danger, order the owner of the land or slope to do all or any of the following:
to appoint an appropriate qualified person to carry out (at the owner’s cost) any investigation in relation to the land or slope that the Commissioner of Building Control may specify;
to submit to the Commissioner of Building Control the findings of the investigation by the qualified person under paragraph (a);
to execute or cause to be executed (at the owner’s cost) any building works or other works that the Commissioner of Building Control may specify to obviate the danger.
(2)
The Commissioner of Building Control may, in lieu of or in addition to any order under subsection (1), make a closure order in relation to either or both of the following:
the building that is endangered by the land or slope; (b)the land or slope.
(3)
Before exercising any of his or her powers under subsection (2), the Commissioner of Building Control must, if it is reasonably practicable to do so, give notice of his or her intention to make the closure order.
(4)
Any person to whom a closure order under subsection (2) is given must, while the order is in force, display a copy of the order in a way that it can be easily read by people —
at every entrance to any building to which the order relates; and
on any hoarding, fence, cordon, barricade or other physical barrier to entry upon any land or slope to which the order relates.
(5)
If the person to whom an order in subsection (1) is given fails to comply with the order within the time specified, the Commissioner of Building Control may —
execute the order in any manner that he or she thinks fit; and
recover in a court of competent jurisdiction as a debt due to him or her all expenses reasonably incurred by him or her in doing so from the person in default.
(6)
Without affecting the right of the Commissioner of Building Control to exercise his or her powers under subsection (5), any person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with any order in subsection (1) that the person is given shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —
to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both; and
in respect of a continuing failure to comply, to an additional fine not exceeding $2,500 for each day or part of a day the person fails to comply with the order,and if the failure to comply continues after the conviction, the person shall be guilty of a further offence and shall be liable on conviction of this further offence to a further fine not exceeding $5,000 for each day or part of a day the person fails to comply with the order after conviction.