The depressing, heartbreaking, and annoying year that was 2020 is finally over, and we’re now in 2021.
We’d typically start the new year with a bang, but thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, it began with more of a soft thud.
The annual fireworks display at Marina Bay didn’t happen this year, for fear it would draw crowds.
So people had to count down to the new year in other ways.
Some met their friends for dinner and drinks and others gathered to watch the fireworks at residential areas.
One youth, however, celebrated the arrival of the new year in a slightly different way: littering.
YP Threw Soju Bottle into S’pore River on New Year to Start off 2021
A video of a youth flinging an empty Soju bottle into the Singapore River has been shared online, enraging netizens.
The video, which was first posted by one of the youths involved, has since been reposted on YouTube.
The video starts off with a bare-faced youth muttering something unintelligible to the camera while seated with his friends, who weren’t wearing face masks either.
The video then cuts to a youth wearing a face mask who’s holding an empty Soju bottle in his hands.
The clip, which was first posted on Instagram, includes the caption “2021 started off on a good note”.
Naturally, viewers wondered what the youth in the video did to celebrate the new year.
And we soon found out.
The youth then tosses the empty bottle high into the air as celebratory shouts of approval rise around him.
The camera then pans to the area in which the bottle was aimed, and it appears to be the Singapore River.
Based on the backdrop, it’s likely that the group were on Anderson Bridge, a vehicular bridge that spans across the Singapore River.
The bridge straddles the mouth of the river and connects Empress Place with Collyer Quay.
At the time of writing, the reposted video on YouTube has been viewed over 1,300 times.
Hefty Fines
According to the National Environmental Agency, the maximum fine for a littering offence is $2,000 for the first court conviction, under the Environmental Public Health Act (EPHA).
The fine can go up to $4,000 for the second conviction, and $10,000 for the third and subsequent convictions.
Back in 2017, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that while the campaign for the cleanup of the Singapore River started over 40 years ago, keeping it clean is an ongoing effort.
“The river cleanup is never done,” he said.
“Singaporeans still must learn not to drop litter and trash on the ground, which washes into drains and the river, and has to be caught with booms along the way.”
This, of course, includes flinging an empty Soju bottle into the river.
Featured Image: YouTube (ahgong_warrior)
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