Dilly-dallying over construction noise

>MY MOTHER and I live opposite a construction site in Kampong Java Road where work to build a new condominium started over a year ago. My mother suffered a stroke about six weeks ago and needs to rest in order to recuperate.

However, an incident has left me concerned about the ability of certain government agencies to act against errant contractors.

On March 24, I came home around 8pm to see a number of concrete mixer trucks arriving at the construction site. By 9pm, they were still in full swing, operating like it was in broad daylight and making a lot of noise. I called the National Environment Agency (NEA) to complain as all construction work should stop by 9pm.

At 10pm, I called NEA again as the noise was continuing and my mother could not sleep. NEA had the attending officer return my call and he said the agency would issue summons to the contractor the next day. I asked him what about the ongoing work and he said he could not stop the workers as they were pouring concrete. I asked him if they were breaking the law. He said they were but he could not stop them.

I then called the police. The officer asked if it was residential noise or construction noise. I said it was construction and he told me to call NEA.

I said I had called NEA and it could not stop the construction. The officer insisted that since NEA gave the licence, NEA had to act on it.

I said I could not believe an illegal action would go on and no one was willing to do anything about it. After some insistence a police unit was dispatched to deal with it. By then it was already midnight.

The police unit came, had an exchange of words and, after that, nothing. The work continued and in the meantime, my mother, and my children who had to get up at 6am, did not get any sleep.

By 12.40am, I could not take it any more. I went to the engineers office and I threatened them with legal action. In 10 minutes, all work stopped.

Is this what Singapore has come to? That taxpaying citizens have to take matters into their own hands while the authorities dance around?

Philip Wee

Source : Straits Times – 6 Apr 2010