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Engineer fined S$4,000 by PUB for not supervising water piping works

SINGAPORE — A professional engineer was fined S$4,000 on Tuesday by national water agency PUB for failing to supervise water service installation works at Bizhub near Chai Chee, which risked contaminating the drinking water supply.

SINGAPORE — A professional engineer was fined S$4,000 on Tuesday by national water agency PUB for failing to supervise water service installation works at Bizhub near Chai Chee, which risked contaminating the drinking water supply.

This was the fourth offence for Ying Kee Yeow, who had already been warned, charged and fined S$2,000 previously by the agency.

His latest offence was discovered when PUB conducted a site investigation on Dec 15 last year and found that sanitary pipes at Bizhub, an industrial building in Senang Crescent, were installed above the low-level water tank located at the building’s basement. It also found that the required sampling taps were not installed for the tank.

PUB said in a press statement yesterday that failure to supervise the proper installation of non-potable water pipes — to ensure that they are not placed above any potable water pipes or water tanks — is a serious offence, because it compromises the safety of drinking water supply and can lead to contamination.

The layout of the pipes has now been rectified at Bizhub.

Ying, who infringed a standard of the code of practice for water services, was charged under PUB regulations. A licensed plumber who took on the works on his behalf, and carried out the sanitary pipe and water tank installation works, was suspended for six months.

Last November, Ying was given a stern warning by PUB for failing to comply with water tank security requirements for a residential development. Then in January this year, he again committed a similar offence by failing to install stainless steel brackets for the covers of low-level tanks, as well as sampling taps for the tanks at another residential development.

PUB served a notice of offence to him and offered to compound the offence for a composition sum of S$500.

In April, Ying was charged and fined S$2,000 for failing to supervise water service works at a dormitory at Lorong Lada Hitam in Mandai, where potable water pipes were found to be installed beneath sanitary pipes in the dormitory toilets.

PUB said it would not hesitate to take strict enforcement action against parties who do not comply with its requirements and regulations.

For the offence, Ying could have been fined up to S$10,000, or jailed up to a year, or both.

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