Singapore’s Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, Grace Fu, proposed sweeping amendments to the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act in Parliament on Wednesday, tabled under a certificate of urgency so the bill can be debated and voted on in the same sitting. The daily fine for causing haze pollution in Singapore would rise tenfold, from S$100,000 to S$1 million a day, capped at S$20 million in total, up from S$2 million, and courts could add the profit gained or loss avoided from the offence; the current law has been used twice, in 2015 and again in 2026, and has never produced a fine, while Singapore endured stretches of unhealthy air from September 4 to October 26 this year.
A firm designated by the minister, because it was convicted or suspected of an offence, failed to comply with notices, or received an adverse assessor report, could be ordered restricted from business dealings including financial services, and doing business with a designated firm could bring fines of up to S$1 million per infraction. The amendments would also let authorities direct a suspected firm to appoint specified private assessors, serve legal documents electronically, hold hearings even if the accused are outside Singapore, and hold entities responsible for overseas fires that pose a credible risk of haze before any smoke arrives.