SINGAPORE: The National Environment Agency (NEA) will tighten enforcement against rat-related lapses from Apr 1 to reduce the risk of infestations.

This follows a spike in rat-related lapses in 2024, with more than 1,000 enforcement actions taken against businesses such as shopping malls and food establishments.

The figure is almost double the 670 enforcement actions taken in 2023.

"Nearly half of the enforcements last year were for poor refuse management," NEA said on Friday (Feb 14). 

The stepped-up enforcement will cover lapses in three key areas: Poor refuse management and housekeeping practices that create conditions favourable for the propagation of rats, defects in refuse handling facilities that can potentially serve as entry points for rats, and the presence of rat nests. 

“This aims to reinforce the importance of premises managers implementing proper rat prevention and control measures proactively, which improves overall cleanliness standards and reduces the risk of rat infestations,” NEA said in a media release.

The agency added that relying on enforcement alone would not be enough to mitigate rat infestations in the longer term, adding that it will continue to adopt a “multi-pronged approach” to address the situation through active surveillance and stakeholder engagement. 

“This enables us to make informed decisions to carry out targeted interventions, thereby improving the effectiveness of our public hygiene efforts,” said NEA.

"Findings from our islandwide surveillance of rat burrows are also analysed and shared with relevant stakeholders such as town councils and land agencies, for them to carry out upstream preventive and downstream control measures.”

Premises managers and owners who fail to practise proper refuse management or create conditions favourable to the harbouring or propagating of rats are subject to enforcement by NEA under the Environmental Public Health Act (EPHA) and the Control of Vectors and Pesticides Act (CVPA) respectively.

The maximum penalty under the CVPA is a fine of up to S$20,000 or imprisonment for up to three months, or both, for a first offence. 

For a first offence under the Environmental Public Health (Public Cleansing) Regulations, premises owners can be fined up to a maximum of S$1,000 and to a further fine not exceeding S$100 for every day or part thereof during which the offence continues after conviction.