83 being investigated after alleged drinking, smoking, & singing in office & shophouse units in S'pore

Investigations into all four cases are ongoing.

Nyi Nyi Thet | March 22, 2021, 04:13 PM

The police are investigating 46 men and 37 women, aged between 20 and 58, in four separate cases of alleged non-compliance with safe distancing measures.

Preliminary investigations revealed that in all four cases, individuals had allegedly gathered to socialise, with public entertainment and liquor believed to have been supplied to them without a valid license:

On February 25, 2021, the police received information about a gathering in an office unit along Pemimpin Drive.

When officers arrived, eight men and seven women, aged between 21 and 38, were allegedly drinking, smoking and singing in the unit.

A 38-year old man, believed to be the operator of the unit, and an additional three men believed to have been acting as ‘lookouts’ for the group, are being investigated for offences under the Public Entertainments Act and Liquor Control (Supply and Consumption) Act 2015.

On March 1, 2021, the Police received information about a gathering in a shophouse unit along East Coast Road. When officers arrived, 12 men and seven women, aged between 21 and 39, were allegedly drinking and singing in the unit.

The unit’s operator is being investigated for offences under the Public Entertainments Act and Liquor Control (Supply and Consumption) Act 2015.

On March 13, 2021, the Police received information about a gathering in an office unit along Jalan Bukit Merah. When officers arrived, five men and six women, aged between 20 and 38, were allegedly drinking, smoking and singing in the unit.

The unit’s operator is being investigated for offences under the Public Entertainments Act and Liquor Control (Supply and Consumption) Act 2015.

On March 18, 2021, the police conducted a raid on an office unit along Ubi Avenue 3, and found 18 men and 17 women, aged between 22 and 58, allegedly drinking and socialising in the unit.

A 22-year-old man, believed to be the operator of the unit, is being investigated for offences under the Public Entertainments Act, Liquor Control (Supply and Consumption) Act 2015 and Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.

Four female Vietnamese nationals were arrested for suspected offences under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.

Investigations into all four cases are ongoing.

Under the Public Entertainments Act and Liquor Control (Supply and Consumption) Act 2015, the offences of providing public entertainment and supplying liquor without a valid license each carries a fine of up to S$20,000.

Under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, the offence of employing a foreign employee without a valid work pass carries a fine of between S$5,000 to S$30,000, a jail term of up to 12 months, or both. Under the same Act, the offence of being in employment without a valid work pass carries a jail term of up to two years, a fine of up to S$20,000, or both.

Image from S'pore Police