'Give chance lah': Netizens call for empathy towards unlicensed street hawker slapped with $27,600 fine

News of an unlicensed street hawker being slapped with a hefty fine has got netizens feeling rather sorry for the elderly man. 

The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said in a statement on Thursday (May 4) that Tan Hee Meng, 62, was fined $27,600 for 19 counts of illegal hawking of roasted chestnuts in public places from May 2019 to March 2023. 

If he is unable to pay the fine, Tan has to serve a 36-day jail term. 

On social media, netizens expressed their sympathy towards Tan. 

"Give chance lah," one urged.

Others remarked that Tan could've been taught how to apply for a food licence so he could sell chestnuts legally.

One netizen mentioned the existence of ice cream sellers on motorbikes, saying such hawkers could help liven up the streets. 

According to The Straits Times, Tan mostly sold roasted chestnuts in the eastern part of Singapore, including bus stops near Ubi and Bedok, as well as along East Coast Road, Onan road and Marine Parade Central.

He was previously convicted of similar offences back in 2018 when he was issued a $3,600 fine. 

"Despite numerous enforcement actions taken against Tan, he continued to engage in illegal hawking activities, demonstrating a clear disregard for the law," said SFA. 

Unregulated street hawking poses a risk to food safety, the agency explained, adding that it is "unable to assure" if the food sold meets Singapore's food safety requirements. 

Repeat offenders of illegal hawking can be fined up to $10,000 and/or be jailed for up to three months.

According to SFA, all food retail establishments must be licensed in order to operate.

While ice cream street hawkers hold licences, they are personal to the holder and non-transferable, CNA reported in 2019. 13 street hawkers were allowed to sell ice-cream on any "public land", SFA said at the time.

History of street hawkers in Singapore 

According to the National Heritage Board, street hawkers used to be a staple of Singapore's landscape, as immigrants saw it as a good way to earn a living. 

However, they soon became subject to regulations and relocations after the authorities raised concerns about public health and hygiene. The spaces where they hawked their wares also obstructed traffic and city planning.

Shortly after Singapore gained independence, the government conducted an islandwide registration of street hawkers, which moved them into back lanes, car parks and vacant plots of land. 

In the 1960s and 1980s, several of these street hawkers were eventually relocated to markets and hawker centres with proper amenities. 

ALSO READ: To make extra income, granny resorts to selling chicken on the streets

claudiatan@asiaone.com