{"id":95858,"date":"2026-10-27T13:24:01","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T05:24:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=95858"},"modified":"2026-10-27T13:24:01","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T05:24:01","slug":"singapore-to-tighten-haze-law-amid-evidence-hurdles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=95858","title":{"rendered":"Singapore to tighten haze law amid evidence hurdles"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"text-primary article-summary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">SINGAPORE \u2013 <!-- -->Singapore is looking into strengthening its transboundary haze law, with the aim of addressing enforcement gaps and improving the country\u2019s ability to hold to account those responsible for the fires.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said this on Oct 27, as she noted two challenges to enforcing Singapore\u2019s Transboundary Haze Pollution Act.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">These are<!-- --> the gathering of evidence and the securing of cooperation from companies outside Singapore, she said at an event on sustainable procurement hosted by the Singapore Environment Council (SEC).<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Her comments come amid the Singapore Government\u2019s widening probe against firms linked to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/multimedia\/graphics\/2026\/09\/singapore-haze-2026\/index.html?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">ongoing haze episode<\/span><\/a> \u2013 one of South-east Asia\u2019s worst ones \u2013  with at least 20 firms in the Republic and Indonesia served legal notices under the Republic\u2019s haze law.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The G<!-- -->overnment<!-- --> first issued notices to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/behind-the-blazes-st-looks-at-10-firms-issued-notices-under-spore-haze-law?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">10 Indonesian firms<\/span><\/a> under <!-- -->Section<!-- --> 9 of the law, which required them to take preventative action against the fires. There is no penalty under this section for a non-response.<\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"responsive-iframe-base st_visuals st_visuals-embed\" title=\"st_visuals embed\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/multimedia\/graphics\/2026\/08\/singapore-haze-widget\/index.html\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"accelerometer;falseclipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;\" loading=\"eager\" data-testid=\"responsiveIframe\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Later, Singapore stepped up its probe against companies linked to fires.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">It issued notices under <!-- -->Section<!-- --> 10 of the law to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/who-owns-the-10-spore-firms-targeted-by-the-haze-law?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">10 Singapore-registered companies<\/span><\/a> in the palm oil or forestry businesses. These notices require them to provide information needed for investigations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Fu said: \u201cThere i<!-- -->s an impor<!-- -->tant distinction. Section 9 is aimed at getting companies to take preventive action against the fires. Section 10 helps us gather the information and evidence needed for our investigations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">This is the second time the haze law has been used to target companies. It was also wielded in 2015, but no firms were sued or fined. Cases against four Indonesian firms issued Section 9 notices then remain open. Three of them have been implicated again in the 2026 haze episode.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">On the difficulty in ensuring that companies cooperate, Fu pointed out <!-- -->that<!-- --> enforcement is hard if an overseas company refuses to comply and none of its officers enter Singapore.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Singapore has consistently expressed openness to working with the Indonesian authorities who share the Republic\u2019s objective of holding responsible companies accountable, she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Fu said: \u201cOur enforcement framework should not allow a company to frustrate an investigation simply by refusing to cooperate or remaining outside Singapore.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">She said Singapore\u2019s willingness to work with the Indonesian authorities will not change, even as the country presses ahead to make adjustments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The second challenge lies in gathering and verifying evidence across the borders, she added.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Transboundary Haze Pollution Act: Can it stop the haze?\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/w0jVUCCuvpo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Apart from establishing a fire, Singapore also needs to establish relevant corporate and operational links, including who owns or controls the land, the relationships between different companies, and what steps were taken to prevent and fight the fires.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Fu, who is also Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations, noted that corporate structures, operations and supply chains can span multiple jurisdictions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The necessary information may therefore be held overseas, making it difficult for the Singapore authorities to obtain, the minister said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Said Fu: \u201cEven where information or documents are provided by an overseas company, independently verifying them can be difficult.<!-- -->\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The Singapore<!-- --> authorities cannot simply enter another jurisdiction to conduct investigations, she added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">To this end, the Government on Oct 23 announced that it will <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/environment\/singapore-will-form-panel-of-experts-to-help-investigations-into-haze-linked-firms?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">convene a specialist panel<\/span><\/a> comprising law, audit and investigative firms to support cross-border inquiries into identified companies\u2019 operations, corporate relationships and supply chains.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Fu said Singapore is examining the adequacy of its existing law.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">This review, which will also address enforcement gaps and strengthen corporate accountability, could result in amendments or introduce new laws where necessary.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">But the law is just one tool that Singapore can use. Fu said other measures, including regulatory and economic means, will also be explored.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"landscape inline-media-wrapper\" data-testid=\"inline-media-test-id\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col items-start relative w-fit\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 480px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/8bb2c6f8ebbcd78f5c270b5bf1df6efb6e27f8c45571bf460c4eec41e2839e07?w=480\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 720px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/8bb2c6f8ebbcd78f5c270b5bf1df6efb6e27f8c45571bf460c4eec41e2839e07?w=720\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 721px and max-width: 3999px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/8bb2c6f8ebbcd78f5c270b5bf1df6efb6e27f8c45571bf460c4eec41e2839e07?w=900\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 4000px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/8bb2c6f8ebbcd78f5c270b5bf1df6efb6e27f8c45571bf460c4eec41e2839e07\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/8bb2c6f8ebbcd78f5c270b5bf1df6efb6e27f8c45571bf460c4eec41e2839e07\" alt=\"Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu\u00a0said Singapore is examining the adequacy of its existing law.\" class=\"aspect-landscape flex items-start shrink-0 object-cover landscape article-landscape mobile:w-auto tablet:w-auto\" data-testid=\"image-test-id\" loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"auto\"\/><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"mobile:mx-16 tablet:mx-00 pt-08 pb-16\">\n<p class=\"inline text-secondary font-secondary-captions-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"inline-media-caption-test-id\">Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu\u00a0said Singapore is examining the adequacy of its existing law.<\/p>\n<p class=\"inline text-tertiary font-secondary-captions-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"inline-media-credit-test-id\"> <!-- -->ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Pointing to the Singapore firms <!-- -->which<!-- --> were issued Section 10 notices on Oct 23, Fu said: \u201cThe increased scrutiny has already prompted companies to respo<!-- -->nd publi<!-- -->cly and set out their positions. The broader point is that companies are accountable not only to regulators.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cInvestors, financiers, customers and the wider public increasingly expect companies to demonstrate responsible environmental practices.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The Straits Times reported on Oct 26 that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/all-10-spore-based-firms-acknowledge-nea-notices-on-haze-law-majority-say-they-will-cooperate?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">all 10 firms had acknowledged the requests<\/span><\/a> for information. Most of them said they <!-- -->would<!-- --> cooperate with the authorities, <!-- -->while three<!-- --> did not explicitly say they would do so.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Among the 10 Singapore firms, two of them are linked to Asia Pulp &amp; Paper (APP) \u2013 APP Company and APP Company (China). Products linked to APP include paper brands Paseo, Nice and Paperline.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">During the recent haze episode, the SEC had stepped up monitoring under its green label, including through additional reporting and supply chain checks, noted Fu.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The SEC had on Oct 18 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/environment\/asia-pulp-paper-tied-to-haze-linked-suppliers-given-temporary-restrictions-by-spore-environment?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">taken action against APP<\/span><\/a> after the firm\u2019s suppliers were linked to haze-related fires.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The council said<!-- --> <!-- -->the next day<!-- --> <!-- -->that it had requested more information from APP and that it might suspend the company\u2019s use of the label if it is unable to demonstrate effective measures to counter the fires.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">ST has asked the SEC for updates on their investigations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Said Fu: \u201c(Sustainable procurement) is not only about whether a product carries the right label<!-- -->.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cIt is about whether the product has been responsibly produced, and whether the producer abides by the law and can be held accountable for its environmental impact.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"When should Singaporeans start wearing N95 masks because of the haze?\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/S9J9NcVJ6zc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<center><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/environment\/spore-aims-to-tighten-haze-law-amid-hurdles-in-gathering-evidence-securing-cooperation-grace-fu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><br \/>\n<center\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SINGAPORE \u2013 Singapore is looking into strengthening its transboundary haze law, with the aim of addressing enforcement gaps and improving the country\u2019s ability to hold&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":95860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=95858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95858\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/95860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=95858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=95858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=95858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}