PUBLISHED ONNovember 14, 2025 8:15 AMBYEsther LamA man said he was fined $300 after leaving his extinguished cigarette butt on top of a rubbish bin on Tuesday (Nov 11).
According to Stomp, Sathais, a 30-year-old ad-hoc security officer, claimed that the incident took place along Stirling Road in Queenstown.
He recounted the incident in a TikTok video uploaded the same day and captioned: "Woah seriously (I didn't know) like this also can get fine. Can my life get anymore hard?"
In the 73-second video, he claimed he was smoking on his way to the MRT station after work and had stopped to extinguish his cigarette, leaving the butt on top of a rubbish bin.
He said he was then stopped by a man, who identified himself as a National Environment Agency (NEA) officer, who informed him that he should have disposed of the cigarette butt in the rubbish bin instead.
The officer then asked for his ID and issued him a fine amounting to $300 as it was his first offence.
"If he could have just told me to take the cigarette and throw it inside, I would have done it. And I didn't even know that if you extinguish the cigarette and place it on top of a bin, it is an offence," Sathais said.
"I've never been fined in my entire life."
As at Friday (Nov 14) afternoon, the post has been viewed over 226,000 times and more than 5,000 likes.
@iamwolfgrey Woah seriously Idk like this also can get fine. can my life get anymore hard? #fyp #foryou #sgtiktok ♬ original sound - Wolf Grey
In response to AsiaOne's queries, NEA said it is an offence to leave litter around or on top of bins.
The agency said it takes strict enforcement action against litterbugs, who will be subjected to a composition amount of $300 for a first offence.
Under the Environmental Public Health Act 1987, it is prohibited to dispose of any rubbish in public places, except in a dustbin or other receptacle provided for the deposit of refuse and rubbish.
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