Majority have heeded calls to check premises for mosquito breeding

We thank the writers for their feedback in “Impose more severe penalties for those found to be breeding mosquitoes” (Sept 2), “Focus on mosquito breeding problem, not raising fines” (Sept 5) and “Mindset change needed to stop Zika outbreak” (Sept 7).

The National Environment Agency (NEA) takes a serious view of those found breeding mosquitoes and will not hesitate to take enforcement action against the parties responsible.

From Jan 1 to July 31, the NEA issued more than 410 Notices to Attend Court and more than 50 Stop Work Orders to construction sites for mosquito breeding. About 2,200 households were also fined for mosquito breeding in their homes.

However, the NEA is heartened that the majority have heeded calls to check their premises for mosquito breeding, as most of our 748,000 inspections carried out thus far this year have found those premises to be mosquito-free.

The NEA recently reviewed our penalty regime and from March 14 this year, all residential premises found breeding mosquitoes, whether located within active dengue transmission areas or not, will have to pay a fine of S$200 in lieu of being charged.

Recalcitrant individual offenders may be charged in court, where they face maximum penalties of up to S$10,000 or six months in jail or both.

Companies face higher maximum fines of up to S$50,000 when they are charged in court, and also face significant contractual penalties when their work is delayed as a result of being issued Stop Work Orders.

The quantum of penalties is, however, but one factor that influences how people and companies behave.

Another way in which we hope to influence better behaviour is by publishing the names of construction companies that had been issued Stop Work Orders on our website as an additional deterrent measure.

Zika and dengue not only cause much pain to the individual victims but also have wider social and economic ramifications. It is thus critical and in everyone’s interest that all of us take immediate steps to prevent mosquito breeding to minimise the transmission of Zika and keep dengue cases in check in Singapore.

Everyone can join in the collective efforts to help stem the transmission cycle of Zika and dengue by doing the Five-step Mozzie Wipeout.