SINGAPORE: Twenty-eight trees along Yio Chu Kang Road were damaged after a construction firm carried out unauthorised excavation works in 2020.
Chc Construction was on Thursday (Aug 11) fined S$13,000 after earlier pleading guilty to three charges under the Parks and Trees Regulations.
Three more charges were considered for sentencing.
The damaged trees comprised 25 rain trees and three angsana trees.
Three of the rain trees had to be removed for safety reasons due to extensive root damage. Crown reduction was done for the 25 trees that remained standing.
Chc Construction was engaged by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to replace railings at the centre median of Yio Chu Kang Road.
The trees were planted at the green verge in the centre median. All of them had been marked for retention before the works started.
Around Sep 18, 2020, the National Parks Board (NParks) discovered that the trees were damaged. It issued a stop-work order to LTA on Sep 24, 2020.
Investigations by NParks revealed that the trees, which had girths of 0.5m to 3.2m, suffered damage to their roots and that some roots were severed.
Chc Construction admitted that it failed to inform NParks or LTA about the damage caused to the trees.
It also admitted to carrying out the street works without seeking approval from the Commissioner of Parks and Recreation.
The penalty for this offence is a fine of up to S$30,000.
The punishment for knowingly carrying out an activity that may damage trees in a public park is a fine of up to S$5,000.