Singapore law allows action against overseas entities, but proving responsibility remains challenging.
As haze from Indonesian fires continues affecting Singapore, attention is returning to a decade-old law that gives the city-state powers to pursue companies whose overseas activities cause or contribute to pollution within its borders.
Singapore Law Reaches Beyond Its Borders
Singapore’s Transboundary Haze Pollution Act 2014 has extraterritorial application, meaning companies can potentially face legal action for conduct outside Singapore if that conduct causes or contributes to haze pollution in the country. The law applies to entities directly responsible for such conduct and, under specified circumstances, entities involved in managing another company responsible for it.
Companies Could Face Millions in Fines
Under the Act, an entity convicted of causing or contributing to haze pollution can be fined up to S$100,000 for each day the pollution occurs, subject to an aggregate maximum of S$2 million. An additional fine of up to S$50,000 per day may apply if the entity also fails to comply with a preventive measures notice, with the combined fines remaining subject to the S$2 million cap. The Act also allows civil claims for qualifying personal injury, property damage or economic loss linked to conduct that contravenes the law.
Prosecution Is Possible but Not Automatic
The existence of the law does not mean an Indonesian company can automatically be punished whenever Singapore experiences haze. Authorities would need evidence linking an entity’s conduct to pollution reaching Singapore, making information about fire locations, concession areas, weather conditions and smoke movement important. Singapore’s National Environment Agency has continued monitoring regional hotspots and haze sources, but no new proceedings against specific companies had been publicly confirmed as of October 12.
Previous Haze Crisis Shows Enforcement Challenges
Singapore previously invoked the law following the severe 2015 transboundary haze, when NEA identified fires on concession land associated with six Indonesian companies and issued legal notices to all six. In a 2021 parliamentary response, Singapore’s government said cases involving two companies had been closed based on information they provided, while investigations concerning the remaining four were still open at that time.
Current Haze Renews Legal Scrutiny
The legal debate has resurfaced as Singapore experiences another prolonged period of unhealthy air. On October 11, the 24-hour PSI ranged from 112 to 155, while NEA reported smoke haze from southern Sumatra and West Kalimantan drifting toward Singapore. Authorities have intensified public-health preparations, although enforcement against companies responsible for particular fires remains a separate legal process requiring supporting evidence.
Singapore has a legal mechanism that can potentially hold overseas companies accountable when their activities contribute to haze inside the country, but cross-border enforcement depends on establishing responsibility with sufficient evidence. For Singaporeans, the renewed discussion centers on whether the law can provide meaningful accountability during severe haze episodes. For Indonesians, particularly companies operating in fire-prone concession areas, the issue demonstrates how environmental incidents inside Indonesia can potentially carry legal consequences beyond national borders.
Sources: EN Tempo (2026) , Kompas (2026)
Keywords: Singapore Haze Law, Indonesian Forest Fires, Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, Indonesian Companies Singapore, Haze Prosecution, Forest Fire Liability
