Singapore proposes sweeping haze law changes as government seeks harsher penalties and broader powers
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
The government wants to amend the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, sharply raising fines to as much as $20 million and expanding investigative powers in a move critics may see as a heavy-handed response to a regional pollution problem. Officials say the changes are meant to stop evidence disappearing and let authorities move before smoke reaches Singapore.
Singapore’s Parliament is considering amendments to the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act that would expand investigative powers and raise financial penalties for companies linked to fires that cause haze. The changes are being introduced under a certificate of urgency, allowing debate and a vote in a single sitting.
Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said the revisions aim to prevent loss of evidence and enable action before smoke reaches Singapore. She noted that recent periods of unhealthy air quality, which lasted from early September to late October, have heightened public demand for stronger measures.
Key proposals include giving the Director-General of Environmental Protection authority to direct firms suspected of involvement to appoint private-sector assessors, with non-compliance attracting fines of up to $20 million. The amendments would also allow electronic service of legal documents and empower authorised officers to arrest individuals in Singapore to secure cooperation.
The bill would increase daily fines for haze-related offences from $100,000 to $1 million, capping total penalties at $20 million, and permit courts to consider profits gained or losses avoided as additional penalties. Companies that fail to comply with notices or are designated by the minister could face restrictions on business and financial services, with fines of up to $1 million per breach and daily penalties of $100,000 for continued non-cooperation.
The revised law would also broaden liability to cover entities that contribute to overseas fires posing a credible risk of haze to Singapore, even if the smoke has not yet arrived. Fu emphasized that the measures are intended to target specific high-risk fires rather than policing every regional blaze.
"The changes will give us flexibility to act in a wider range of circumstances, while remaining focused on fires that pose a credible risk to Singapore," Fu said.
The amendments seek to strengthen Singapore’s ability to hold errant entities accountable, though officials acknowledge that legislation alone cannot resolve the transboundary haze issue.