The National Environment Agency (NEA) conducted about 305,000 inspections across Singapore, as well as about 2,300 checks at construction sites.

About 9,000 mosquito breeding habitats were discovered by the agency, according to NEA on 3 June.

As a result, 59 stop-work orders have been issued to construction sites for repeated mosquito breeding offences this year, thus far.

Cases expected to hit new peak

The number of weekly dengue cases in Singapore is also expected to hit a new peak and surpass the highest weekly figure of 1,787 in 2020.

The year 2020 saw a total of 35,315 cases of dengue for the whole year.

More than 12,000 cases of dengue have already been reported this year, which is more than the 5,258 cases recorded in 2021.

Just last week, 1,569 cases were reported, with NEA adding that the weekly figure could be seen exceeding 2,000 because June is the start of the traditional peak dengue season.

This is a concern for us

Desmond Tan, the minister of state for sustainability and environment, said during a media event at a construction site on 3 June, that this is a concern and that the authorities want to enhance and step up their measures to deal with dengue.

He added that NEA has also been stepping up their inspections, along with working with the community and grassroots organisations to exercise more control and prevention measures.

he further added that the inspections have uncovered mosquito breeding in about 60% of household units, 24% in common areas and 5% in construction sites.

Companies that were issued stop-work orders (SWO) are only allowed to carry out corrective actions and review the effectiveness of sanitation and vector control programmes at the sites and the SWO will only be lifted when the measures have been completed and NEA has given their approval.

Repeat offenders

Besides the 59 worksites that were issued SWOs, 6 contractors have been issued repeated SWOs at the same worksite because of poor upkeeping.

One of the more “egregious cases” with multiple mosquito breeding habitats was a construction site at Woodlands Avenue 9, which is a dengue cluster.

9 mosquito breeding sites with more than a few hundred mosquito larvae were found in sanitation facilities, like toilet bowls and etc, during an April inspection.

As of Thursday (2 June), there were more than 405 active dengue clusters, which is an increase form the 196 clusters at the end of April.

A 72-year-old man pleaded guilty to one charge of molestation and was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment on 3 June, as well as an additional 3 months of jail because he cannot be caned due to his age.

He had molested a 28-year-old woman who was mentally disabled on 17 September 2019.

The identity of the man and the victim, as well as his relationship with the victim and where the crime took place, cannot be revealed due to a court order to protect the identity of the victim.

Background

The victim was a 28-year-old woman who suffers from mild to moderate intellectual disability, as well as an autism spectrum disorder.

She was also assessed to be unable to demonstrate the capacity to consent to explicit acts and is incapable of protecting herself due to her mental disability, and is a vulnerable adult.

Recap

The elderly man saw the victim on the morning of 17 September 2019, at the void deck of her estate and spoke to her, finding out that she would be returning home at about 4pm later that day.

He left his home later that afternoon and waited at a lift lobby near the victim’s flat, and molested her as she was returning home at about 4.15pm.

A CCTV that belonged to one of the victim’s neighbours caught the man in the act and alerted the victim’s older brother, who then made a police report at about 9am on 18 September, the next day.

The elderly man was arrested later that day.

Khairy Jamaluddin, the health minister of Malaysia, said on 2 June that the export ban on chickens was “not an easy decision” for Malaysia, according to Bernama.

Speaking to the media, Khairy said that Malaysia values its bilateral relations with Singapore, and that he is hoping the ban is just a temporary measure until the supply and price situation in Malaysia stabilizes.

He added that Malaysia is in a very difficult situation due to supply chain issues brought on by feed and climate change issues, which resulted in a shortage in supply and high prices in Malaysia.

He added that Malaysia is well aware that they have a responsibility as exporters to their neighbours, including Singapore.

Working to resume exports

Khairy further added that the Malaysian authorities are working together very closely with poultry producers to increase output and that once these are achieved, they are hopeful that poultry exports can resume.

The Malaysian government said in a statement on 1 June that the export ban includes live poultry, whole carcasses, chilled and frozen meats, as well as chicken-based products such as nuggets, patties and sausages.

Met S’pore ministers

Khairy was in Singapore and met with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Thursday to review each other’s Covid strategies, as well as discuss developments in the healthcare sector.

They also touched on areas where both countries can strengthen their (our) bilateral cooperation, as well as work together so our economies can recover quickly.

He also met up with ministers such as Heng Swee Keat, Josephine Teo, Ong Ye Kung, Vivian Balakrishnan and Lawrence Wong while he was in Singapore.