Man Singlehandedly Caught 80 Litterbugs from His HDB Window Every Month With a Camera

You know what they say about retirement, right?

It’s about making use of the time you have left doing something that’ll make you happy.

And for this 62-year-old retiree, he decided to put his free time to something meaningful: catching litterbugs.

Man Singlehandedly Caught 80 Litterbugs from His HDB Window Every Month With a Camera

In Tampines, a 62-year-old retiree, surnamed Tan, became a mobile CCTV for the National Environment Agency (NEA).

Every day, he’ll peer out from the kitchen window of his flat along Tampines Street 83 at an open-air carpark.

He’ll be armed with his digital camera and whenever he saw someone littering, he’ll snap a photo and report it to the NEA, complete with photographic evidence.

According to Shin Min Daily News (SMDN), he caught 80 litterbugs red-handed in a single month.

Yes.

80.

Started Out Trying To Catch Pigeon Feeder

As they say, every hero has its beginning.

Some, like Green Arrow, started because his dad died while others, like VR Man, did it because he likes to make policemen spin in circles.

Tan started out trying to catch an errant pigeon feeder back in 2017.

The feeder was reportedly a resident in the estate and always leave a mess behind after his activities.

While trying to get photographic evidence of the pigeon feeder in action, Tan noticed that there are many other people littering in the car park.

Some actions he had seen, and reported, include spitting and the tossing of cigarette butts.

Every infraction he saw, he reported.

He got so good at what he does that he was even nicknamed the “King of Reporting”.

Working Tirelessly

Tan might be a retiree but his second calling isn’t any easier than when he was working.

According to SMDN, Tan’s new job of catching litterbugs has him sitting at his kitchen window almost 24-hour long, ready to catch any litterbugs in action.

It wasn’t smooth-sailing either as sometimes, the culprits whom he’s caught in action will turn up at his doorstep, demanding for him to open up.

Usually, he ignores them.

Tan added that he’s disappointed every time he caught a repeat offender in action.

Stop Littering

While Tan’s doing a great job as a “VSC” for NEA, he’s only one man.

To really keep Singapore clean and green, every individual here must understand the importance of throwing their rubbish where it belongs: the dustbin.

After all, it’s not just about “image”. Keeping estates clean also ensure that pests and cockroaches don’t run rampant

You don’t want to always be on the lookout for huge cockroaches every time you’re walking home at night, do you?

Or worse, have it come up to your unit for a visit.

If you need additional reasons to walk that extra 1-metre to a rubbish bin, here’s one:

For first-time offenders, you can be fined up to $2,000 for littering. If caught for the second time, you can be fined up to $4,000, and $10,000 for the third time.

That’s not even mentioning the embarrassment of doing Corrective Work Order (CWO) in a pink vest.