s 32A Obstruction of public streets, five-footways and private footways
32A.—(1) A person must not —(a) deposit or cause or allow any article or thing to be deposited on any public street, five‑footway or private footway; [Act 42 of 2022 wef 01/11/2024] (b) cause or allow any article or thing to remain on or to protrude over any public street, five‑footway or private footway; or[Act 42 of 2022 wef 01/11/2024] (c) erect or cause to be erected a structure on, under or over any public street, five‑footway or private footway,[Act 42 of 2022 wef 01/11/2024] so as to create any obstruction or inconvenience to the passage of the public on the public street, five-footway or private footway. [11/2003] (2) A person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence.[11/2003] (3) If —(a) any article or thing is deposited or left on, or protrudes over; or (b) any structure is erected, placed, maintained, replaced, renewed or restored on, under or over, any public street, five‑footway or private footway in contravention of subsection (1), an authorised officer may move or remove that article, thing or structure, or cause it to be so moved or removed, so that it is no longer an obstruction or inconvenience to the passage of the public on the public street, five‑footway or private footway. [Act 42 of 2022 wef 01/11/2024] (4) An authorised officer must not exercise a power under subsection (3) unless the officer has taken reasonable steps to inform the following persons (if known), whoever is relevant, of the officer’s intention to exercise that power, and allowed or directed the person to move or remove the article, thing or structure:(a) the owner of the article, thing or structure, as the case may be;[Act 42 of 2022 wef 01/11/2024] (b) the person who caused the article or thing to be deposited or left on, or to protrude over, the public street, five‑footway or private footway;[Act 42 of 2022 wef 01/11/2024] (ba) the person who caused the structure to be erected on, under or over the public street, five‑footway or private footway;[Act 42 of 2022 wef 01/11/2024] (c) the owner or occupier of any land or building fronting, adjoining or abutting on the public street, five‑footway or private footway.[38/2018] [Act 42 of 2022 wef 01/11/2024] (5) For the purpose of exercising a power under subsection (3), an authorised officer may, with such assistance as the officer considers necessary —(a) demolish or remove any structure erected on, under or over the public street, five‑footway or private footway, and then move or remove the structure to store at a holding yard and dispose of the resulting debris from the demolition;[Act 42 of 2022 wef 01/11/2024] (b) move or remove from the public street, five‑footway or private footway, any article, thing or structure by any reasonable means to store at a holding yard, including by towing the article, thing or structure (as the case may be) to a holding yard; and[Act 42 of 2022 wef 01/11/2024] (c) use reasonable force, including cutting or breaking open any lock, seal, fastener or other device on or connected to any article, thing or structure mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b).[Act 42 of 2022 wef 01/11/2024] (6) A person must move or remove any article, thing or structure where allowed or directed to do so by an authorised officer under subsection (4).[38/2018] [Act 42 of 2022 wef 01/11/2024] (7) A person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with subsection (6) shall be guilty of an offence.[38/2018] (8) Where an authorised officer has exercised any power under subsection (3) in relation to any article, thing or structure —(a) the authorised officer must cause a written notice to be sent to an owner of the article, thing or structure (if known) to inform the owner of —(i) the removal or demolition of the article, thing or structure; (ii) the manner by which and the time within which the owner may procure the release of the article, thing or structure if not demolished; and (iii) the consequences that may follow under subsections (10) and (11) if the article, thing or structure is not claimed within the time specified in the notice; and (b) the Authority may recover, from any person mentioned in subsection (4)(a), (b), (ba) or (c), any costs reasonably incurred by the Authority in connection with the exercise of those powers, including costs of storing any article, thing or structure.[Act 42 of 2022 wef 01/11/2024] (9) Despite subsections (8) and (10), where it appears to the Authority that any article, thing or structure moved or removed under subsection (3) —(a) is perishable; (b) may rapidly depreciate in value; or (c) is of such a nature or in such condition that it would be dangerous, not reasonably practicable or unduly costly for the Authority to retain custody of the article, thing or structure, the Authority may, instead of storing the article, thing or structure at a holding yard and notifying the owner thereof, cause it — (d) to be sold (by public auction or otherwise) at once; or (e) to be destroyed or otherwise disposed of at such time and in such manner as the Authority thinks fit.[Act 42 of 2022 wef 01/11/2024] (10) If the article, thing or structure is not claimed by its owner within the time specified in the notice mentioned in subsection (8)(a), the Authority may dispose of the article, thing or structure in such manner as it thinks fit (including selling the article, thing or structure).[11/2003] [Act 42 of 2022 wef 01/11/2024] (11) Where any article, thing or structure has been sold under subsection (9) or (10), the proceeds of the sale —(a) must be applied in payment of any expenses incurred in removing, storing and disposing of the article, thing or structure under this section; and (b) thereafter must be applied in payment of all charges and fines payable under this Act and any regulations made under this Act, and the surplus (if any) must be paid to the owner of the article, thing or structure, or if not claimed by such owner within 12 months of the date of the sale, is forfeited to the Authority. [11/2003; 38/2018] [Act 42 of 2022 wef 01/11/2024] (12) In addition to the methods of service under section 47 —(a) information required under subsection (4) may be given by affixing it to the article, thing or structure in respect of which it applies; and[Act 42 of 2022 wef 01/11/2024] (b) a notice mentioned in subsection (8)(a) may be served by posting it conspicuously at or near the part of the public street, five-footway or private footway from which the article, thing or structure was removed, if the name and address of the owner of the article, thing or structure are unknown or cannot be ascertained despite reasonable diligence.[11/2003; 38/2018] [Act 42 of 2022 wef 01/11/2024] (13) Any person who, without the authority of an authorised officer, removes or tampers with any notice that has been affixed to any article, thing or structure under subsection (12)(a) or that has been posted at any part of a public street, five‑footway or private footway under subsection (12)(b) shall be guilty of an offence.[11/2003; 6/2004] [Act 42 of 2022 wef 01/11/2024] (14) Any person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (2) or (7) shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $100 for every day or part thereof during which the offence continues after conviction.[11/2003; 38/2018] (15) In this section —“authorised officer” means any employee of the Authority, any outsourced enforcement officer and any other person appointed by the Authority under section 4 to assist in the enforcement of this section; “erect”, in relation to a structure, includes any work carried out in constructing, installing, creating, replacing, maintaining, renewing or restoring a structure; “structure” includes any of the following:(a) a post, pile, stake, pipe, chain, wire or any other similar thing fixed to the ground; (b) a billboard, signboard, hoarding, fence, partition, sun-shading device or canopy, an awning or advertising structure, or a platform, safety netting or other similar temporary structure; (c) a tunnel or bridge or an underpass or overpass; (d) a roof, cladding, curtain wall, bracket, cornice or other exterior feature of a building that is installed on, forms part of or projects outwards from a building.[Act 42 of 2022 wef 01/11/2024] (16) This section does not apply in relation to any public path (within the meaning of the Active Mobility Act 2017) that is not on State land.[3/2017; 38/2018]