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New and sick laws!!
Gone: Illegal ice-cream vendors on Orchard Road
Remaining ones have licence to sell island-wide
March 25, 2009
LEGAL VENDOR: Outside Orchard MRT station, Mr Tan Ah Hock holds up his licence to sell ice-cream island-wide. TNP PICTURE: JOANNA HOR
IF YOU go to Orchard Road frequently, you may recall seeing several ice-cream vendors, especially along the stretch outside Wisma Atria and Ngee Ann City.
But the number has dropped significantly since late last month.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) said officers have warned some of them against selling ice-cream on Orchard Road.
As many as 10 have been stopped from operating there, Shin Min Daily News reported on Friday.
The reason is that their licence allows them to sell ice-cream only in the Tanjong Pagar area.
The ice-cream vendors, however, told the evening newspaper that they had been selling ice-cream on Orchard Road for five to six years before they were stopped about a month ago.
When The New Paper tried to contact them, they declined to be interviewed.
An ice-cream distributor, who declined to be named, told The New Paper that the vendors had resorted to operating at Orchard Road because business at Tanjong Pagar was very bad.
He said they had been chased away in past years too, but they would return to Orchard Road.
He said: 'They told me that all the other places in Tanjong Pagar where they can set up their stalls were already occupied by other ice-cream vendors.'
Since being warned this time, they have stopped their business for now, the ice-cream distributor said.
An NEA spokesman said vendors caught selling goods in areas where they are not licensed would be given verbal warnings.
If they persisted, they would be issued with up to three written warnings before their licence is suspended for two weeks.
As of this month, there are 350 vendors holding town council street hawking licences.
These licences permit them to sell ice-cream in a single constituency only.
The spokesman said that this was to prevent all the vendors from gathering at one location and causing 'public obstruction'.
The vendors who are licensed to sell ice-cream on Orchard Road possess an island-wide licence, which allows them to sell ice-cream anywhere in Singapore, the NEA spokesman said.
These were issued during a 'one-time licensing' exercise in 1974.
There are only 35 vendors who possess the island-wide licence now.
When The New Paper visited Orchard Road around 5pm on Friday, we saw five vendors along a 200m stretch outside Takashimaya and Wisma Atria.
All carried the island-wide licence.
Good friends
Three of the vendors said they have been selling ice-cream on Orchard Road for 10 years.
Mr Lee Keok Beng, 68, who mans a stall outside Takashimaya, said all five vendors were good friends who do not poach each other's customers.
And contrary to the belief that business on Orchard Road is the most profitable, all three griped that takings had fallen since the economic downturn.
The arrival of illegal vendors only made things worse.
Mr Lee said in Mandarin: 'With all these illegal vendors, our daily takings have been reduced by half.'
Another vendor, Mr Tan Ah Hock, 66, said in Mandarin: 'The economy is so bad now, people buy less ice-cream. So it's better for us that they (the illegal vendors) got chased away.'
Mr Tan said he used to earn $1,500 a month, but this had dropped to $1,200 because of the recession.
As The New Paper was speaking to him, two NEA officers came to check on his licence.
Pointing at them, he said: 'They come two or three times a day to check our licences.'
The NEA spokesman said they have not stepped up checks on licences on Orchard Road.
He said: 'It doesn't mean that we condone it when they are not caught (selling ice-cream in unlicensed areas).
'We will give them verbal warnings as much as possible. Most of them will comply. Warning letters will be used as the last resort.'
Joanna Hor and Audrey Tan, newsroom interns
Gone: Illegal ice-cream vendors on Orchard Road
Remaining ones have licence to sell island-wide
March 25, 2009
LEGAL VENDOR: Outside Orchard MRT station, Mr Tan Ah Hock holds up his licence to sell ice-cream island-wide. TNP PICTURE: JOANNA HOR
IF YOU go to Orchard Road frequently, you may recall seeing several ice-cream vendors, especially along the stretch outside Wisma Atria and Ngee Ann City.
But the number has dropped significantly since late last month.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) said officers have warned some of them against selling ice-cream on Orchard Road.
As many as 10 have been stopped from operating there, Shin Min Daily News reported on Friday.
The reason is that their licence allows them to sell ice-cream only in the Tanjong Pagar area.
The ice-cream vendors, however, told the evening newspaper that they had been selling ice-cream on Orchard Road for five to six years before they were stopped about a month ago.
When The New Paper tried to contact them, they declined to be interviewed.
An ice-cream distributor, who declined to be named, told The New Paper that the vendors had resorted to operating at Orchard Road because business at Tanjong Pagar was very bad.
He said they had been chased away in past years too, but they would return to Orchard Road.
He said: 'They told me that all the other places in Tanjong Pagar where they can set up their stalls were already occupied by other ice-cream vendors.'
Since being warned this time, they have stopped their business for now, the ice-cream distributor said.
An NEA spokesman said vendors caught selling goods in areas where they are not licensed would be given verbal warnings.
If they persisted, they would be issued with up to three written warnings before their licence is suspended for two weeks.
As of this month, there are 350 vendors holding town council street hawking licences.
These licences permit them to sell ice-cream in a single constituency only.
The spokesman said that this was to prevent all the vendors from gathering at one location and causing 'public obstruction'.
The vendors who are licensed to sell ice-cream on Orchard Road possess an island-wide licence, which allows them to sell ice-cream anywhere in Singapore, the NEA spokesman said.
These were issued during a 'one-time licensing' exercise in 1974.
There are only 35 vendors who possess the island-wide licence now.
When The New Paper visited Orchard Road around 5pm on Friday, we saw five vendors along a 200m stretch outside Takashimaya and Wisma Atria.
All carried the island-wide licence.
Good friends
Three of the vendors said they have been selling ice-cream on Orchard Road for 10 years.
Mr Lee Keok Beng, 68, who mans a stall outside Takashimaya, said all five vendors were good friends who do not poach each other's customers.
And contrary to the belief that business on Orchard Road is the most profitable, all three griped that takings had fallen since the economic downturn.
The arrival of illegal vendors only made things worse.
Mr Lee said in Mandarin: 'With all these illegal vendors, our daily takings have been reduced by half.'
Another vendor, Mr Tan Ah Hock, 66, said in Mandarin: 'The economy is so bad now, people buy less ice-cream. So it's better for us that they (the illegal vendors) got chased away.'
Mr Tan said he used to earn $1,500 a month, but this had dropped to $1,200 because of the recession.
As The New Paper was speaking to him, two NEA officers came to check on his licence.
Pointing at them, he said: 'They come two or three times a day to check our licences.'
The NEA spokesman said they have not stepped up checks on licences on Orchard Road.
He said: 'It doesn't mean that we condone it when they are not caught (selling ice-cream in unlicensed areas).
'We will give them verbal warnings as much as possible. Most of them will comply. Warning letters will be used as the last resort.'
Joanna Hor and Audrey Tan, newsroom interns
