Overview

• Canopy Hawkers Group said free-meal clauses will be removed when tenancy agreements at Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre renew in September.
• The proposed pay-it-forward scheme had not been implemented and its 2024 contract version required stallholders to provide 100 free meals at their own cost over three years.
• Legal experts flagged that the clause’s wording, including the term “shall participate,” created a binding obligation that could breach contract law if enforced.
• Health Minister Ong Ye Kung confirmed that hawkers will not face penalties for not supplying free meals under the existing contracts.
• The operator acknowledged that charity should be voluntary after selecting tenants based on their willingness to contribute but deciding not to enforce the initiative.