Feathered Fines: Family Dodges $672,000 In Penalties Over Illegal Chicken Coops

By Alric Lindsay

A family avoided catastrophic financial penalties today, October 14, 2026, after Chief Magistrate Hernandez sentenced them to a combined 300 hours of community service for operating an illegal, commercial-scale egg production business in a residential neighbourhood.

Roxene Andres Chin-Forde, Deborah Ann-Marie Chin, and Floyd Patrick Chin appeared unrepresented in the Summary Court facing a single charge of failing to comply with an Enforcement Notice issued by the Planning Department.

The prosecution, led by DPP Crown Counsel Brown, revealed that the family’s non-compliance spanned a staggering 672 days. Brown explained that the family obtained a Trade & Business (T&B) Licence and subsequently erected chicken coops to launch an egg-production business. On September 11, 2024, a compliance officer discovered the unauthorized structures on the residential property. A formal enforcement notice was served via registered mail on October 15, 2024, giving the family notice to either seek after-the-fact planning permission or dismantle the structures. Follow-up inspections by planning officer Mr. Palmer confirmed that the structures remained active long after the deadline.

Chief Magistrate Hernandez took a stern view of the breach, noting that the case had lingered in the court system since September 9, 2025, driven entirely by a commercial profit motif. The Chief Magistrate reminded the family that the statutory penalties for the offence were severe, carrying a $5,000 upfront fine and an ongoing daily fine of $1,000, which technically placed their financial liability in the hundreds of thousands of dollars over a 672 day period.

Speaking in their defence, the family claimed they had consulted government officials regarding their T&B licence and genuinely believed it granted them the right to raise poultry.

However, Chief Magistrate Hernandez firmly corrected that notion, stating that the T&B licence was explicitly clear and only permitted the family to conduct administrative office work. “You were operating a commercial business where you didn’t have the right,” the Chief Magistrate stressed.

Ms. Chin told the court that the family had gone back and forth with the Planning Department trying to find a resolution, but ultimately had to give away their entire flock of 400 chickens because they could not find buyers. She added that they made no money from the venture and are currently entirely without an income.

Taking their lack of financial means into account, Chief Magistrate Hernandez spared the family a crushing financial penalty, finding them instead suitable for community service. Each of the three defendants was ordered to complete 100 hours of community service within the next 12 months.