HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD FLATS AND LICENCES (Deprivation of citizens' rights)

Mr Ling How Doong asked the Acting Minister for National Development whether it is the policy to deny citizens of their rights to register for Housing and Development Board flats and to apply for or renew their licences if they fail to pay their fines, compositions, dues, levies and Central Provident Fund contribution and if he will specify the circumstances under which these rights are being deprived.

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: The HDB Home Ownership Scheme is one of the Government's programmes to help Singaporeans own homes and to give them a stake in the country. It is not a right. They have to meet prevailing criteria.

The Government has used the HDB Home Ownership Scheme to effectively deter anti-social behaviour. For example, the Government has taken a strong stand against those who throw killer litter from their HDB flats. Upon their second offence, they would no longer be allowed to stay in their flats.

Similarly, if a recalcitrant parking offender blatantly ignores the law and does not settle his warrant of arrest issued due to his refusal to pay up his parking fines despite repeated reminders, then HDB imposes a range of disincentives to ensure that he settles his warrants of arrest and pays up his fines.

These disincentives include withholding the keys from those who have just purchased flats, not renewing their contractor licences if they happen to be HDB contractors, etc. These measures are only temporary until the warrants of arrests are settled.

As for the failure to pay levies and CPF, neither issue directly affects the registration for HDB flats or the renewal of HDB contractor licences.