Lady Allegedly Caught For Merely Holding a Finished Cigg in Yishun Void Deck

By
George Yang
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By now, even the aliens living in Mars would have known that the Singapore authorities are taking a hard stance on smokers: I mean, if smoking at home can become a public debate, smokers might find themselves smoking only in yellow boxes in 2099.

But I digress. This article isn’t about the hardball the authorities are placing on smokers, but more on a case of how far one would go to perform his or her duties.

Of course, this is essentially a one-sided story, so hold your judgement instead of buying rotten eggs and going over to Yishun to look for some NEA officers.

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Yah, you’ve read it right: of course it has to happen in Yishun. I mean, where else, right?

Facebook Post That Went Viral

Yesterday evening, Facebook user Michelle Niklaus Mikaelson (pretty sure she’s a Singaporean and not a troll) posted her experience in Yishun together with some images.

Image: Facebook (Michelle Niklaus Mikaelson)

Long story cut short, here’s what happened:

  • She was smoking at a legal smoking area, and after she’s done smoking, she went to a void deck to dispose of her cigarette butt as there wasn’t any dustbin around, and there were dustbins in the void deck
  • She was caught by NEA officers for holding a lit cigarette in a void deck (by the way, smoking isn’t allowed in void decks)
  • The NEA officers had cameras on them and she requested to see the video to prove that she didn’t smoke in the void deck
  • The NEA officers still summoned her
  • After a while, she ran after them but the NEA officers ran away
  • She then caught up with them, but the NEA officers refused to retract the summon
  • She called the police and the police told her to appeal

The post has since garnered 4.2K Shares.

Smoking in Void Decks Has Been Banned Since 2013

Lest you’re not aware, five years ago, void decks were designated as a non-smoking area. Back then, of course, it creates quite a hoo-ha, for void decks used to be a place for smokers to lepak.

Little did we know that the ban would slowly expand to more places soon after, all so to protect non-smokers from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke.

Depending on whether you’re a first-offender or not, the fine could be $200 to $500, and if you’re caught repeatedly, you might need to attend court.

The Question Here: Lit Cigarette Consider Smoking?

This is unique because it happened in Yishun (just saying), but what’s even more unique is the fact that the lady, if what she alleged is true, is merely holding a lit cigarette. It’s like a person holding a phone while driving but not using it: is that an offence?

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If you’d go to the post, you would see that many people sided with the lady, but I think there’s one part that people might have missed out.

The police’s suggestion.

After all, anyone who lives in Singapore knows that if you’ve not done anything wrong, you can simply appeal and chances are, you’ll succeed. Which, of course, is what the police has suggested.

So the lesson here? If anyone with authority just want to carry out his or her duty blindly, just appeal.

NEA Officers Recently Caught a Smoker in a Stairway

If you think I’m joking when I mentioned that the authorities are taking a hard line on the smoking ban, think again because on 18 October 2018, at 10:14 p.m., a person was caught by NEA officers for smoking on a staircase landing between the 7th and 8th floor of an HDB.

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To specifically look for that smoker, they were either patrolling hard or they were good Pokemon GO players. I presume it’s the former.

So, don’t pray pray.

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George Yang
Email: [email protected]