NEA forms were unsuitable for Town Council fair: Sylvia Lim

SINGAPORE — The Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) had three issues with the application forms for holding a trade fair, which set off an exchange of letters and emails between the National Environment Agency (NEA) and the AHPETC, the court heard today (Oct 15).

Taking the stand, AHPETC chairman Sylvia Lim said the forms did not appear suitable for the Chinese New Year fair the town council threw in January, which the NEA alleges was held without a permit.

For one, she understood the term “trade fair” to be “pasar malam” — night market — which are typically managed by the Citizens’ Consultative Committee (CCC). However, the fair the town council intended to hold was a community event held in a common area managed by the town council.

Also, the application forms for a trade fair permit did not include town councils on the list of organisations permitted to hold such fairs.

Ms Lim also questioned why a “Letter of Support” from the CCC — in this case, the Bedok Reservoir-Punggol CCC, which is chaired by a People’s Action Party grassroots leader — was needed, when she and her colleagues were elected to manage the town council.

The town council had asked the NEA for other forms after finding the ones sent unsuitable, but the NEA sent the same forms. Although they did not find the forms suitable, they filled them in at the NEA’s request, said Ms Lim.

NEA prosecutors are arguing that the fair — which ran from Jan 9 to Jan 30 with five stalls selling items like festive decorations — constituted a “temporary fair” and required a permit, and that AHPETC had flouted the rules. The NEA had not issued a permit as the forms submitted by AHPETC were deemed incomplete.

Defence lawyer Peter Low had yesterday argued that the town council’s event was a “mini-fair” and did not require a permit.

But NEA prosecutor Issac Tan said the laws made “no distinction” between “mini-fairs” and “large fairs”, and Mr Low’s suggestion was “misconceived”.

Today, Mr Low also argued that AHPETC had taken “reasonable care” to observe the law by asking if a permit was needed. However, Mr Tan said that after the town council went ahead with the fair without a permit, the NEA told the town council “more than once” that enforcement action would be taken if it did not cease operations.

Earlier in the day, district judge Victor Yeo ruled that the line of questioning taken by Mr Low involving the July 2008 version of the application form for a trade fair application was irrelevant. Mr Low had wanted to question NEA director for environmental health Tai Ji Choong on the 2008 form, which included town councils among the list of organisations allowed to hold fairs.

Ms Lim is expected to be cross-examined by the NEA prosecutor. Other defence witnesses to be called include Hougang Member of Parliament Png Eng Huat.

If found guilty, AHPETC could be fined up to S$1,000.