A man was fined 220 dollars for dropping two rubber bands on a public road in Singapore, local media reported on Tuesday.
Photos of a ticket issued by Singapore’s National Environment Agency on May 23 were shared on Twitter, detailing the nature of the offence as “You did throw rubber band in a public place.’’
The screenshot was confirmed by the NEA as being genuine, according to local daily, The Straits Times.
“NEA enforcement officers observed a man walking toward his vehicle and shooting two rubber bands, one after the other, into the air,’’ the agency said, in response to queries by Channel NewsAsia.
“The rubber bands landed on the public road. Our officers thus informed him of the littering offence and issued him an enforcement ticket,’’ NEA added.
Littering offences in Singapore are punishable by fines and a corrective work order, which requires recalcitrant offenders to clean public areas for a minimum of three hours, up to a maximum of 12 hours.
About 39,000 littering tickets were issued in 2018, according to data released by the NEA in May.
Social media users reacted by either applauding the move or expressing their amusement at the fine.
“I honestly think it serves the person’s right to be fined for throwing the rubber bands,’’ tweeted Diviyanth. “It’s not the item size but the action of doing so; thus the fine.’’
“Well, I don’t expect them to bend the rules, but the officer could have been more flexible,’’ said a Facebook user, Prashant Thadathil.