GEIS-新闻详情

Not all nightlife establishments operating amid Covid-19 complied with requirements: SPF, SFA

2021-07-20 00:00:00.0 海峡时报-新加坡原网页

SINGAPORE - Many of the more than 400 nightlife establishment operators in Singapore have fully complied with Covid-19 requirements.

But some have not been responsible.

This was highlighted by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) in a joint statement on Tuesday (July 20).

Nightlife establishments such as pubs, bars, nightclubs, discotheques and karaoke lounges have not been allowed to operate in their original form since March 2020, in a bid to tackle Covid-19.

To allow them to have some revenue in the meantime, before the nightlife sector reopens, government agencies rolled out a streamlined process in October to allow these operators to switch to the food and beverage (F&B) sector quickly.

SPF and SFA said on Tuesday that breaches of safe management measures committed by the errant group of establishments are flagrant and carry much higher public health risks.

From Oct 1 last year to July 10 this year, the police conducted 202 operations against licensed public entertainment outlets, including those that had pivoted to F&B, as well as against unlicensed public entertainment outlets that were operating in locations such as industrial estates, office units and shophouses.

Some 540 checks on such outlets were conducted during these operations, which resulted in the detection of 595 breaches of safe management measures, among other infringements.

"Government agencies will continue to carry out enforcement action against errant outlets, including permanent revocation of licences and prosecution in court... (However) there is a limit to what enforcement can achieve," said SPF and SFA.

"Business operators and patrons must play their part, and abide by the safe management measures put in place. Individual responsibility is more important and, in fact, the most effective and sustainable means for us to overcome Covid-19. All of us have to play our part."

There were 142 people arrested for various offences, including under the Public Entertainments Act, Liquor Control Act, Employment of Foreign Manpower Act and Immigration Act, among others.

Separately, joint enforcement operations involving various government agencies and the police have been conducted over 20 weekends and all festive periods since October last year.

To date, agencies have imposed around 100 closure orders on F&B outlets, including around 40 that were previously non-F&B establishments, with around 10 repeat offenders.