Wildlife centre contractor granted discharge not amounting to acquittal

Written by Writer on Wednesday, November 12th, 2008

Wildlife centre contractor granted discharge not amounting to acquittal

By Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 12 November 2008

SINGAPORE: The contractor accused of dumping woodchips onto the site of ACRES Wildlife Rescue Centre has been granted a discharge, not amounting to acquittal.

This means that A.N.A Contractor Pte Ltd could still be charged with the offence, depending on how investigations unfold.

Investigations by the National Environment Agency (NEA) revealed that the ACRES’s contractor had used woodchips for the earth work at the site. This resulted in blackish, foul-smelling discharge flowing from the land into the watercourse linked to Kranji Reservoir.

Channel NewsAsia understands that A.N.A Contractor is now pinning the blame on its sub-contractor, which means the prosecution will have to re-open its investigations.

If convicted under the Environmental Protection and Management Act, parties could be fined up to S$100,000 and jailed up to 12 months.

Separately, ACRES has filed a civil suit against A.N.A Contractor and its director Tan Boon Kwee, who was the Clerk of Works for the rescue centre project.

ACRES will be claiming damages and losses it has suffered as a result of the actions of A.N.A and Mr Tan.

The Wildlife Rescue Centre remains partially opened and the back portion of its land is still undeveloped.

ACRES’ executive director Louis Ng said it would cost S$1.6 million to demolish the existing infrastructure and excavate the land to get rid of the buried woodchips. - CNA/so