Town Council of Bukit Timah (Common Property and Open Spaces) By-laws

Town Councils Act

(Chapter 329A, Section 24)

Town Council of Bukit Timah
(Common Property and Open Spaces) By-laws

By 4

G.N. No. S 262/1997

REVISED EDITION 1998

(15th June 1998)

[15th June 1998]

Citation

1. These By-laws may be cited as the Town Council of Bukit Timah (Common Property and Open Spaces) By-laws.

Definitions

2.—(1) In these By-laws, unless the context otherwise requires —

“common property” and “open space” mean any common property and any open space, respectively, within the Town of Bukit Timah;

“housing estate” means a housing estate of the Board within the Town of Bukit Timah;

“park” means to bring a vehicle to a stationary position and cause it to remain for any purpose;

“parking place” has the same meaning as in the Parking Places Act (Cap. 214);

“sign” includes all signals, warning sign posts, direction posts, banners and advertisements;

“vehicle” means a vehicle, whether mechanically propelled or not, intended or adapted for use on the road.

(2) Nothing in these By-laws shall prohibit officers or employees of the Town Council or any person authorised by the Town Council from doing any act that is reasonably necessary or expedient in the enforcement of these By-laws.

No parking, dumping, etc.

3. No person shall —

(a)	park any vehicle on any common property or in any open space except in a parking place;
(b)	use, ride or drive on any common property or in any open space any vehicle other than a perambulator, a child’s toy vehicle used solely by a child or a wheel-chair used solely for the conveyance of a person suffering from some physical defect or disability;
(c)	place, deposit, keep or leave, or cause or permit to be placed, deposited, kept or left, any material, article, object or thing on any common property or in any open space except in such places designated by the Town Council for that purpose;
(d)	permit any dog, cat or other animal belonging to him or in his charge to urinate, defecate or otherwise soil any common property or open space; or
(e)	transport any renovation debris or other building material in any lift in a building in any housing estates, or over any other common property except with the prior written permission of the Town Council.

Unauthorised structures

4.—(1) No person shall erect or install any fixtures, structure or thing on any common property or in any open space except with the prior written permission of the Town Council.

(2) Any person who has erected or installed any fixture, structure or thing in contravention of paragraph (1) shall, if requested in writing by the Town Council, remove at his expense that fixture, structure or thing and repair any damage to the common property or open space within 7 days of that request being served on him, in default of which the Town Council may remove that fixture, structure or thing and repair any such damage caused; and the amount of expenses incurred by the Town Council in removing the fixture, structure or thing and performing the repairs shall be recoverable by the Town Council from that person.

Power to detain and remove vehicles

5.—(1) Where a vehicle is parked on any common property or in any open space in contravention of any by-law, or appears to have been abandoned on any common property or in any open space, the secretary may, in his discretion and by himself or an officer authorised by the Town Council (referred to in this by-law as the authorised officer) —

(a)	remove the vehicle to a place of safety or any other place and detain it thereat; or
(b)	prevent the removal of the vehicle without his consent by fixing an immobilisation device to the vehicle.

(2) Where the secretary or the authorised officer has removed any vehicle to a place of safety or any other place pursuant to paragraph (1)(a) or fixed an immobilisation device to the vehicle pursuant to paragraph (1)(b), he shall, with reasonable despatch, give notice in writing to the owner of the vehicle as to the procedure by which he may secure the release of the vehicle, and such notice shall be served on the owner of the vehicle —

(a)	in the case where the vehicle has been removed to a place of safety or any other place, in accordance with by-law 18 or where this is not possible, by posting it on any notice board maintained by the Town Council nearest the part of the common property or open space where the vehicle was parked or found; or
(b)	in the case where an immobilisation device has been fixed to the vehicle, by affixing the notice onto the windscreen or any conspicuous part of the vehicle.

(3) No vehicle which has been removed and detained by the secretary or the authorised officer or to which an immobilisation device has been fixed in accordance with this by-law shall be released to the owner of the vehicle except —

(a)	by or under the direction of the secretary or the authorised officer; and
(b)	upon the owner of the vehicle having paid all expenses incurred by the secretary or the authorised officer, and such other charges as may be imposed under these By-laws.

(4) Any person who, without the authority of the secretary or the authorised officer, removes or tampers with any notice affixed to a vehicle under paragraph (2)(b) shall be guilty of an offence.

(5) Any person who, without being authorised to do so in accordance with this by-law, removes or attempts to remove —

(a)	any vehicle from any place at which it is being detained under this by-law; or
(b)	an immobilisation device fixed to a vehicle in accordance with this by-law,

shall be guilty of an offence.

(6) Where any abandoned vehicle which has been removed and detained by the secretary or the authorised officer or to which an immobilisation device has been fixed in accordance with this by-law is not claimed by the owner within one month of the date of its detention or immobilisation, the secretary may, after giving one month’s notice in the Gazette of his intention to do so, sell the vehicle by public auction or otherwise dispose of it in any manner as he thinks fit.

(7) Where an abandoned vehicle has been sold or otherwise disposed of under paragraph (6), the proceeds of the sale or disposal of the vehicle shall be applied in payment of any expenses incurred in carrying out the provisions of this by-law and thereafter shall be applied in payment of all charges and fines payable under these By-laws and the surplus, if any, shall be paid to the owner of the vehicle.

(8) In this by-law, “immobilisation device” means any device or appliance designed or adapted to be fixed to any part of a vehicle for the purpose of preventing the vehicle from being driven or otherwise put in motion, being a device or appliance of such type approved by the secretary or an officer authorised by the Town Council in that behalf.

Repairing, painting, etc., of vehicles

6.—(1) No person shall repair, paint, spray, test or service or cause or permit to be repaired, painted, sprayed, tested or serviced any vehicle on any common property or in any open space.

(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to such repairs as may be reasonably necessary to enable the vehicle to be removed from the common property or open space.

Playing of games

7. Where the Town Council has set apart any part of any common property or open space described in a notice board affixed or set up in some conspicuous position in that part of the common property or open space for the purposes of —

(a)	roller skating;
(b)	riding of skateboards; or
(c)	any game specified in the notice which, by reason of the rules or manner of playing, or for the prevention of damage, danger or discomfort to any person or in the common property or open space, may necessitate at any time during the continuance of the game the exclusive use by the players of any space in such part of the common property or open space,

no person shall on or in any common property or open space elsewhere roller skate, ride a skateboard or play or take part in any game so specified.

Obstruction of common property

8.—(1) No person shall obstruct or cause or permit the obstruction of the lawful use of any common property with any object, fixture or thing.

(2) The Town Council may remove any object, fixture or thing obstructing the lawful use of any common property.

(3) The Town Council shall immediately give written notice to the owner or person having lawful possession of the object, fixture or thing removed and detained by the Town Council that he may, on payment of the expenses incurred by the Town Council, claim possession from the Town Council within 30 days of such removal and detention.

(4) If the object, fixture or thing removed and detained by the Town Council is not claimed within 30 days of such removal and detention by the owner or person who had lawful possession thereof when it was removed and detained, the Town Council may sell by public auction or otherwise dispose of such object, fixture or thing and the proceeds of the sale or disposal shall be applied firstly to the expenses incurred by the Town Council in the removal, detention and sale or disposal, and the surplus, if any, shall be paid to such owner or person.

Littering on common property

9. No person shall throw or deposit or cause or permit to be thrown or deposited any dust, dirt, ashes, refuse, rubbish or other matter or thing into or onto any common property or open space other than in a refuse chute or other refuse or litter container or receptacle designated for that purpose.

Throwing objects, etc., from buildings and dangerously positioned objects

10.—(1) No person shall endanger life or property or cause any nuisance annoyance or inconvenience to any person within the Town by throwing, or allowing to fall from his flat or any part of the building in a housing estate , any object, material, thing, article or substance.

(2) No person shall place any pot, plant, ornament, article, object or substance on any window-sill, corridor or common property within the Town in such manner which, in the opinion of the Town Council, is likely to cause injury or cause damage to any common property or the property of any other person.

Damage to turf, plant, shrub or tree

11.—(1) No person shall remove, cut, damage or dispose of any turf, plant, shrub or tree or part thereof situated on any common property or in any open space.

(2) No person shall pick a shrub or plant or any part thereof situated on any common property or in any open space.

Diversion of water or electricity

12. Except with the prior written permission of the Town Council, no person shall draw, divert or take —

(a)	any water from any water service installation for the supply of water, tap or pipe situated on any common property; or
(b)	any electricity from any electrical installation for the supply of electricity, socket or electrical supply line situated on any common property.

Display of signs

13. No person shall display or cause or permit to be displayed any sign on any common property or in any open space except with the approval of the Town Council.

Damage to common property

14.—(1) No person shall remove, destroy, damage or deface or remove any earth or soil from any common property.

(2) The costs and expenses including administrative costs incurred by the Town Council in restoring any damaged common property to its condition before such damage or destruction or in replacing earth, soil or any other property that has been removed shall constitute a debt due to the Town Council and shall be recoverable as such.

Entertainment and sale of goods on common property

15. No person shall, without the prior written permission of the Town Council —

(a)	hold or stage or cause the holding or staging of any show, play, wayang or other entertainment or any reception or formal party on any common property or in any open space; or
(b)	sell or offer or expose for sale any commodity or article on any common property or in any open space.

Swimming, fishing and bathing

16. No person shall bathe, wade, wash, swim, fish in or cause or permit any animal to enter or remove any thing from any pond, lake or fountain which is within the Town of Bukit Timah and maintained by the Town Council.

Trespassing onto meter room

17. No person shall, except with the prior written permission of the Town Council, enter any lift motor room or any common property, being a fenced enclosure, building or room, in which any installation for the use or supply of water and electricity may be situated.

Service of notices

18. Except insofar as these By-laws otherwise expressly provide, any notice required by these By-laws to be served on any person may be served by —

(a)	delivering the notice to that person or delivering the notice at the usual or last known place of abode of that person to some adult member or servant of his family;
(b)	sending the notice by registered post to the usual or last known place of abode or business of the person; or
(c)	affixing the notice to some conspicuous part of the usual or last known place of abode or business of the person.

Penalty

19. Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with any of the provisions of these By-laws shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000.

Composition of offences

20. Every offence under these By-laws shall be a compoundable offence.

[G.N. No.S262/97]

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