Food manufacturer fined S$17,700 for repeatedly dumping illegal liquid waste into public sewers

SINGAPORE — Local food manufacturer Whye Kee Foodstuff has been fined S$17,700 for repeatedly dumping liquid waste into public sewers at levels exceeding the permitted limits, PUB, the national water agency, said on Thursday (Oct 8).

The firm was convicted last month of four out of 10 charges of discharging liquid waste containing chemical substances exceeding what was allowed. PUB had discovered the offence during site inspections between September and October last year.

During one of the inspections at the firm’s premise at Tai Seng Avenue, PUB found that the trade effluent sample had exceeded, by more than 120 times, the allowable limits for biochemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids and chemical oxygen demand, as well as more than eight times the allowable limits for oil and grease.

The company had committed similar offences just months before that in May 2019, for which it had been fined S$14,400.

“Excessive levels of these substances in the sewage can upset used water treatment processes at PUB’s water reclamation plants and also disrupt NEWater production,” PUB said in a statement.

The firm has also had its approval to discharge liquid waste into sewers revoked from May 4 this year and has since had to engage waste collectors to dispose of its waste.

“Investigations revealed that Whye Kee Foodstuff failed to put in place effective measures to prevent and remove excessive food waste generated from the food manufacturing processes from going into the sewers,” PUB said.

“In addition, the company did not pre-treat trade effluent to meet discharge limits as required under the Sewerage and Drainage (Trade Effluent) Regulations.”

Under the regulations, the firm could have been fined a maximum of S$15,000 for each offence.