Sim Ann on Community Disputes Resolution (Amendment) Bill

The Municipal Services Office will host a dedicated unit to address severe neighbour noise and hoarding cases. At the same time, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) will pilot a Community Relations Unit (CRU) in Tampines Town. Senior Minister of State for National Development Sim Ann highlighted these key initiatives in Parliament on Tuesday (Nov 12). On the CRU, she said it will focus only on severe neighbour noise and hoarding cases. The Director-General of the CRU may issue an abatement order and non-compliance can constitute a criminal offence. The item causing the noise may also be seized. Ms Sim assured the House that there will be safeguards - officers must show their official identification card and the public can verify this on the website of the Ministry of National Development. CRU officers will also have the power to take statements, photographs and recordings, as well as issue advisories and warnings. The CRU can issue Mediation Directions to stop any unreasonable activity. The CRU will also be empowered to leverage technology, such as noise sensors to collect evidence on the direction, timing and intensity of the noise nuisance. To protect residents' privacy, noise sensors will be deployed only after initial investigations have narrowed down to the unit where the noise might be coming from. If the sensor is to be installed in someone's home, the owner or occupier must agree to it. If the sensors are to be installed in the common areas, the CRU must seek consent from the managing agent. Raw data collected by the sensors will be transmitted in real time to Singapore-based servers for processing. Strict access controls will be placed on the servers and the data which will be used for investigation and any subsequent court proceedings. The actual sounds, including conversations picked by the sensor, will not be available to officers. Ms Sim said as an “absolute last resort” for the most severe cases that involve recalcitrant nuisance makers, HDB may consider compulsory acquisition of the flats. In cases involving people with mental health conditions, the aim will be to facilitate assessment and treatment. To deal with severe hoarding cases, officers can apply to the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals as a last resort to protect public health and safety. They will be authorised to enter the unit to remove and dispose of any hoarding materials. Turning to the CRU pilot project in Tampines Town, Ms Sim said the estate was chosen as it has an average caseload compared with other towns in Singapore, which will give a representative setting in which to test the model. It has formed the initial team of officers who are working on developing their operational procedures and hopes to begin operations from the second quarter of 2025. As part of the pilot, it will also look at directed mediation as an early lever to arrest and resolve the disputes upstream. “It is intended to complement and not substitute the interlocking system of positive community norms, good neighbourly relations and amicable dispute resolution through friendly discussion and compromise,” she said.