The CRU, which will be formed after changes to the Community Disputes Resolution Act were passed on Nov 12, will focus on tackling two types of community disputes - cases involving hoarding and severe noise.
Ms Sim said the bulk of the cases the CRU will deal with will be noise-related, since the volume of severe hoarding cases is not high.
That said, hoarding is an issue that poses public health and safety risks, she added.
In severe hoarding cases, the home may be infested with pests from rotting food, which could affect neighbours. Clutter is also a potentially fatal fire hazard, she noted.
She pointed out that the director-general for community relations who will head the CRU can apply to the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals (CDRT) to forcibly declutter a residential unit as a last resort, after efforts from front-line agencies have been exhausted and the hoarder still fails to comply.
If such an order is granted, the CRU's community relations officers will be authorised to enter the unit to remove and dispose of hoarded materials and items.
Other than the hoarding issue, the CRU will also focus on disputes where noise is causing severe suffering to neighbours, said Ms Sim.
Officers will have a range of powers, including to issue direction to compel parties to go for mediation at the Community Mediation Centre. Failing to comply will be an offence.
The officers can also deploy noise sensors to collect evidence on the direction, timing and intensity of the noise nuisance.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 13, 2024 من The Straits Times.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 13, 2024 من The Straits Times.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Passengers say Turkish Airlines flights have bedbugs
Shortly after boarding her Turkish Airlines flight from Johannesburg to Istanbul in March, Ms Patience Titcombe from Phoenix noticed a small bug crawling on her seat when she got up to use the restroom.
Actor Ben Yeo shutters restaurant after incurring $1 million loss in two years
Local actor and F&B entrepreneur Ben Yeo is shutting down the high-end modern Chinese restaurant he founded, Tan Xiang Yuan, after two years.
Director Jeff Baena elevated dark themes with humour in his works
American director and screenwriter Jeff Baena, who co-wrote the dark comedy I Heart Huckabees (2004) and directed films including Life After Beth (2014) and Horse Girl (2020), died on Jan. 3 at a residence in Los Angeles. He was 47.
Squid Game star denies ties with South Korea ruling party's former leader
Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae has distanced himself from the party of South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol after a photo of him with the party's ex-leader resurfaced online, according to Korean media.
Japanese cast dominates as Shogun breaks new ground
Comeback stories and Asian representation at the awards show celebrating the best in film and TV
A toast to Switzerland
The country is adopting a sip-and-stay approach to spread the word on its best-kept secret – wines
Saving the mysterious African manatee in Cameroon
Ever since his first hard-won sightings of African manatees, award-winning marine biologist Aristide Takoukam Kamla has been devoted to protecting the little-known and at-risk aquatic mammals.
'CRAZY' CHUA TURNS PRO
S'pore triathlete aims to win SEA Games, qualify for Asian Games and Olympics
The fall in sport is cruel, inevitable and hard to digest
In sport, this is the guarantee. Falls will be hard. The boxer sent to the canvas. The rugby winger brought to earth. The gymnast slipping off the high bar. And the hero tumbling from his pedestal.
AMORIM WANTS SAME 'MENTALITY EVERY DAY'
United need to replicate the fortitude shown in draw at Liverpool to become a better side
