Corrective work order

Corrective Work Order, commonly known as CWO, is one of the two penalties (the other is a fine) in Singapore to be meted out to 'litterbugs' (those who are caught littering in the public street). The order forces the 'litterbugs' to clean up a specified location as ordered by the government, while wearing a bright green luminous vest bearing the words "Corrective Work Order". The punishment aims to force the offender to rehabilitate and shame them in public to deter others from committing the similar offence.

Results

Corrective Work Order was intended for repeat offenders only. Introduced in 1992, it proved to be very successful. Littering offenses have significantly dropped, and there were very few repeat offenders. Occasionally, a few who served Corrective Work Order had their faces photographed by The Straits Times and published on the front cover. These people usually end up as a "national joke" and have sometimes been shunned. Litterbugs serving Corrective Work Order usually have their faces covered with a mask or plastic bag (which is legal) to avoid being identified by members of the public. In the recent years, it was extended to first time offenders who littered "large objects."

However, media interest long since tailed off, and there is some evidence that the sentence is no longer working as a deterrent to littering by the general public.^[1]

References

1. ^ Wing-Cheong Chan, "A Review of the Corrective Work Order in Singapore", Papers from the British Society of Criminology Conference, Keele, July 2002. ISSN 1464-4088

External links

• Corrective Work Order Act