Mr Speaker, the current Civil Defence Shelter Act sets out that owners and occupants “must not carry out or permit another person to carry out … any repair or alteration, or anything else, which is likely to damage or otherwise impair the efficient use of the household or storey shelter as such”.
One significant effect of the current Bill is to amend the Civil Defence Shelter Act and grant the Commissioner of Civil Defence with enhanced powers so that the SCDF can better exercise its regulatory oversight over shelter products.
Presently, the SCDF lacks the power to directly deal with the suppliers, manufacturers, and installers who create, sell, or install non-compliant shelter products. However, when this Bill passes, the Commissioner can now act against these parties by issuing a Section 4H direction.
According to the Bill, the Commissioner can issue a Section 4H direction if he or she has reasonable grounds to believe that: (a) the direction is necessary for public safety, and (b) the shelter product is either non-compliant, or “was installed in a manner that impairs or is likely to impair the safe and efficient use” of the shelter.
As the SMOS explained, the new Section 4H directions cover an existing enforcement gap.
This is all well and good. However, I also note that a 4 August Channel NewsAsia report stated that “the SCDF has not identified any cases of non-compliant shelter products”. This is something that the SMOS also confirmed earlier.
Hence, could the SMOS offer some examples of specific regulated shelter products that are meant to be covered under the Bill, other than fire-rated shelter doors?
It would also be helpful if the SMOS could clarify whether there is anything in the market which is prompting the SCDF’s concerns about shelter products and motivating this Bill.
Furthermore, Mr Speaker, while we are on this topic of bomb shelters, please permit me to ask three questions about how flat owners or occupants can put their HDB household shelters to use.
First, can the Government clarify whether such HDB household shelters are suitable for long-term human occupancy in non-emergency situations?
Second, is the SCDF of the view that the installation of fixtures to support long-term human occupancy in a HDB household shelters, such as a loft bed, meets the statutory requirement of not being an alteration “which is likely to damage or otherwise impair the efficient use of the household or storey shelter as such”?
Third, can the SCDF also confirm that the installation of a wall-mounted air-conditioning or a wall-mounted fan would be prohibited if they are fixed “using power driven nails” onto the internal walls of the household shelter, and that this applies to both HDB and non-HDB household shelter?
Mr Speaker, my clarifications notwithstanding, I support this Bill.
