On May 16, a Facebook post was put up showing photos of a dozen or so people sitting together and supposedly hanging out at Robertson Quay in the evening.
In one photo, some F&B establishments could be seen selling alcohol while customers hung out outside a craft beer bar, TAP.
TAP later put out a statement to clarify that the tables seen in the photo did not belong to it.
Sale of alcohol was banned on May 17
A few people without masks were also spotted.
The post was eventually shared over 2,200 times with many chiding what they considered socially irresponsible behaviour, and questioning why they had not been caught by enforcers.
Subsequently, the sale of alcohol was banned on May 17 by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).
In a statement, URA said that it would not hesitate to take action against businesses that contravened the sale or other safe distancing measures.
Robertson quay was somewhat less crowded one week later
When Mothership headed down one week later, on May 23, people were still spotted walking around the area, although not to the extent as seen from the photos on May 16.
Instead, many people were seen with their children and pets, while others appeared to be exercising.
Photo by Matthias Ang
Photo by Matthias Ang
Photo by Matthias Ang
Two Safe Distancing Ambassadors were also spotted on the scene, with the area outside the Limoncello restaurant cordoned off.
Photo by Matthias Ang
Photo by Matthias Ang
A photo from the aforementioned Facebook post showed that the scene outside Limoncello previously looked like this on May 16.
Source: Lectress Pat Facebook
This time the crowds appeared to be much more manageable. Rather than hanging around at one place either, many were in the midst of walking their dogs, or exercising with the family.
Passers-by are generally supportive of action taken
The passersby we spoke to were generally supportive of the actions taken the previous weekend.
One 32-year-old woman from the UK, who had been in Singapore for less than a year and is a resident of a condominium in the area, said that it was good that the authorities had taken action against what had happened.
She added that on May 16, she had witnessed the crowds and called her friends as she was under the impression that the Circuit Breaker had been lifted.
The woman herself acknowledged that she had not been "tracking all the communication."
As such, the fact that the authorities are enforcing measures is a "good signal that the Circuit Breaker is there, and it's serious" as people who have the "wrong ideas" are corrected, she added.
Another 37-year-old Danish man, also a resident of the area, gave his view that people should just follow the rules "because it's the right thing to do."
The man said that while he had not witnessed the May 16 crowds, he had heard about the matter from a friend.
"I mean, the rules are set up for reasons right? And I think for people to not respect that or accept that I think is not the right thing.
So my hope is just people to follow the rules and you don't have to get, you know, authority or police or whatever involved, people should just do it because it's the right thing to do. That's my view."
Meanwhile, a Singaporean, who also lived nearby, alleged that the crowd seen on May 16 had been a regular occurrence since the Circuit Breaker first began, based on what he saw from his regular walks in the area.
Similarly, another 35-year-old Robertson Quay resident, who has been in Singapore since 2016, told Mothership that while people were no longer drinking in the vicinity, what had supposedly become more apparent was the number of people meeting up with children and domestic workers.
With regard to people flouting the Circuit Breaker, the resident added that he had personally witnessed such behaviour since May 14, and that it had been on a daily occurrence, throughout the day.
Bars' staff refused to comment on the incident
When Mothership approached the staff of four bars and restaurants around the area -- TAP, Bar Bar Black Sheep, Limoncello and Beast & Butterflies, the staff of all four bars directed us to either a phone number or email addresses with our queries.
Mothership has since reached out to all four outlets for their statements on the matter and will update the article when we have received their replies.
TAP and Limoncello were open, but in keeping with regulations, they were only open for deliveries. There was also an absence of people hanging around having drinks and chatting.
Differences and outcome
Compared to the pictures taken the previous weekend, Robertson Quay appeared to be quite similar to any other area in Singapore.
There were definitely people up and about, but none appear to be congregating in a single spot, like some of the pictures taken over the last weekend.
Images like plastic cups filled with beer were also nowhere to be found.
When contacted by Mothership on the previous weekend, the issue of take-away alcohol was one of the factors URA presented.
URA said,
"During our safe distancing patrols at Robertson Quay, our officers found the majority of operators and individuals to be compliant with safe distancing measures.
However, we observed that some restaurants in the area were selling take-away alcohol to patrons, which had contributed to more individuals gathering around these premises.
To prevent such gatherings from taking place, we have issued a written direction to these restaurants to cease the sale of take-away alcohol with immediate effect. Any contravention of such directions is an offence and we will not hesitate to take such parties to task."
In a follow-up to the May 16 weekend pictures, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli provided an update on Facebook on May 18.
Masagos said that the police have traced a number of the individuals who gathered in the area.
Left photo from Lectress Pat Facebook, right photo by Matthias Ang