Authorities close Holland Village eatery, outdoor refreshment areas along the area removed: Lawrence Wong

Immediate effect.

Nyi Nyi Thet| June 20, 2020, 04:52 PM

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The first Friday night of Phase 2 saw quite a number of people at Holland Village.

While safe-distancing measures are still in place, there have been several Facebook and Instagram posts showing crowds of people gathering at Holland Village, with one particularly viral photo featuring a long queue of people.

This led to environment and water resources minister Masagos Zulkifli commenting on the situation.

Wong: "They will be taken to task"

Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong has come out with some of the measures the authorities have used to deal with the issue.

Wong, who is the co-chair of the Multi-Ministry Taskforce, said that it was unfortunate that a few businesses and individuals "are acting very irresponsibly" on the second day of Phase 2, and "they will be taken to task".

Wong stated in his post that a restaurant has been closed with immediate effect after inspections.

"Last night, the authorities were alerted to large crowds gathering around the Outdoor Refreshment Areas (ORA) and on the road along Lor Mambong in Holland Village.

Based on their inspections, the crowds were largely gathering outside one restaurant, namely the British Indian Curry Hut. We will close the restaurant with immediate effect."

ORA's have also been removed.

F&B outlets along this stretch will therefore have to ensure that their customers dine only within their premises, and are not eating or drinking outside.

Enforcement officers have issued fines to individuals in the vicinity last night for violating safe distancing rules.

Wong said that individuals will be fined, even if it’s his or her first offence. He added that those holding work passes risk having their passes revoked.

Investigations are ongoing for other possible breaches.

Wong called on all business operators to do the right thing.

He said that there was no point "rushing to open, only to fall short of the new safe management requirements".

You can read Wong's Facebook post here.