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No. S 113

Town Councils Act

(Chapter 329A)

Town Council of Sembawang (Common Property and Open Spaces) By-laws 1997

In exercise of the powers conferred by section 24 of the Town Councils Act, the Town Council for the Town of Sembawang hereby makes the following By-laws:

Citation and commencement

1. These By-laws may be cited as the Town Council of Sembawang (Common Property and Open Spaces) By-laws 1997 and shall be deemed to have come into operation on 21st March 1997.

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 Sembawang;

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

“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, notices 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.

Dumping and renovation debris

3. No person shall —

(a)	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 any place designated by the Town Council for that purpose; or
(b)	transport any renovation debris or other building material in any lift in a building in any housing estate, or over any other common property, except with the prior written permission of the Town Council.

Obstruction of common property

4.—(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 of it 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 by the owner or person having lawful possession thereof within 30 days of such removal and detention, the Town Council may dispose of it by public auction or otherwise and apply the proceeds of the sale to the expenses incurred by the Town Council in the removal and detention, and the surplus, if any, shall be paid to such owner or person having lawful possession thereof.

Damage to common property

5.—(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.

Damage to soil, turf, plant, shrub or tree

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

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

Unlawful parking, etc.

7. No person shall —

(a)	park any vehicle on any common property or in any open space except in a parking place; or
(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 by a child or a person suffering from some physical defect or disability.

Power to detain or remove vehicles

8.—(1) Where a vehicle is parked on any common property or in any open space in contravention of any by-law or it appears to have been abandoned on any common property or in any open space, the secretary or an officer authorised by the Town Council —

(a)	may detain the vehicle by any means and, if the vehicle is detained, shall give notice in writing of the detention to the owner or person who had lawful possession of the vehicle when it was detained and that he may, on payment of the expenses incurred by the Town Council in respect of such detention, claim possession of the vehicle within 3 days of such notice being served on him; and
(b)	if such owner or person fails to claim possession of the vehicle within the period specified in sub-paragraph (a), may remove or cause the vehicle to be removed to a place of safety.

(2) Where any vehicle is removed under paragraph (1)(b) to a place of safety, the secretary of the Town Council shall, with all reasonable despatch, give notice in writing of the removal to the owner or person who had lawful possession of the vehicle when it was removed and that he may, on payment of the expenses incurred by the Town Council in respect of such removal, claim possession of the vehicle within 30 days of such notice being sent to him.

(3) Where the Town Council has detained or removed or caused the detention or removal of any vehicle to a place of safety under paragraph (1), the owner or person who had lawful possession of the vehicle when it was detained or removed shall —

(a)	in the case of detention, within the period specified in paragraph (1)(a); or
(b)	in the case of removal, within the period specified in paragraph (2),

pay all expenses incurred by the Town Council in respect of such detention or removal, as the case may be.

Repairing, painting, etc., of vehicles

9.—(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

10. 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 conspicious position in that part of the common property or open space for the purpose 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 on 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.

Entertainment and sale of goods on common property

11. 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.

Display of signs

12. 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 prior written permission of the Town Council.

Unauthorised structures

13.—(1) No person shall erect or install any fixture, 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 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.

Diversion of water or electricity

14. 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.

Obstruction of rubbish chutes

15. No person shall throw or deposit or cause or permit to be thrown or deposited into any refuse chute in a building in any housing estate any object, material, thing, article or substance which will or is likely to choke, clog or obstruct the free fall of refuse in the chute or cause any nuisance, annoyance or inconvenience to other occupiers of the building.

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

16.—(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.

Service of documents

17. Any document required by these By-laws to be served on any person may be served —

(a)

by delivering the document to that person or delivering the document at the usual or last known place of abode of that person to some adult member or servant of his family;

(b)

by sending the document by registered post to the usual or last known place of abode or business of the person;

(c)

by leaving the document at the usual or last known place of abode or business of the person in a cover addressed to that person; or

(d)

where the person is a body corporate —

(i)	by delivering the document to the secretary or other like officer of the body corporate at its registered office or principal place of business; or
(ii)	by sending the document by registered post to the registered office of the body corporate.

Penalty

18. 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

19. Every offence under these By-laws shall be a compoundable offence, and the Town Council may, in its discretion, compound any such offence by collecting from the person reasonably suspected of having committed the offence a sum not exceeding $1,000.

Made this 1st day of March 1997.

HO PENG KEE

Chairman,
The Town Council for the Town of Sembawang,
Singapore.