Use discretion in applying rules - K Shanmugam

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http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC121006-0000038/Use-discretion-in-applying-rules

"HAVE A HEART!"

While there are rules for various situations, sometimes there has to be "discretion exercised" on how such rules are applied, said Foreign Affairs Minister K Shanmugam.

Mr Shanmugam made this comment on Facebook after he visited Mr Tan Cheng Chu, whose plight of having to give up one of his two dogs has been circulating on the Internet in a video.

Mr Tan, who is terminally ill with lung cancer, was told to do so after complaints of noise from a neighbour, which led to the Housing and Development Board (HDB) stepping in to enforce the rule of allowing only one dog in an HDB flat.

"Listening to Mr Tan, and playing with his dogs, one thought kept going through my mind again and again - what sort of person will complain about Mr Tan keeping the dogs in such a situation?" said Mr Shanmugam.

Describing the dogs as "friendly, adorable and obedient", he said: "A bit of compassion and sympathy will go a long way but some amongst us can only think of ourselves."

He noted that the HDB was "bound by its rules" and in a "very difficult" position. Given the circumstances, the agency also did not enforce the rules for more than a year, despite the consistent complaints.

"We will get one or two residents who will insist that the rules be enforced strictly, though the vast majority are OK with the situation. Often the complainers will be behaving unreasonably - but strictly speaking, they will be entitled to complain, and they will do so, repeatedly," he said.