S'pore police apologise to Duxton Road restaurant after mistaking it as pivoted nightlife establishment

The police will tighten its processes.

Fasiha Nazren | July 22, 2021, 12:03 PM

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The Singapore Police Force (SPF) has issued an apology to Goh Tong Hann, the general manager of seafood restaurant Marcy's, which was almost shut down as it was mistaken for a nightlife establishment.

Sorry for unpleasant experience

In a Straits Times forum letter published on July 22, Assistant Director of SPF's Public Communications Division Brenda Ong apologised for the "unpleasant experience, and the anxiety that was caused".

The letter also explained that the restaurant was mistaken as a pivoted nightlife establishment which was required to suspend operations from July 16 to July 30.

For context, this is part of the tightened dining restrictions introduced to curb transmission in the community following the emergence of the KTV cluster on July 12.

According to the letter, the police immediately notified Goh the following day upon realising the error that the restaurant had taken over the premises formerly occupied by a nightlife establishment.

The police have met Goh in person and said that he has accepted their explanation.

The letter added that the police will tighten their processes and thanked Goh for his feedback.

"Anxiety-riddled" experience

On July 20, a forum letter written by Goh was published in the Straits Times, sharing how he was asked to close his restaurant by police officers.

The restaurant was mistaken for a nightlife venue that had pivoted to become an F&B establishment.

Marcy's opened at Duxton Road in January 2021, taking over the venue of an ailing nightclub.

He described the experience as an "anxiety-riddled" 24 hours, as they weighed the financial cost of temporarily shutting down the new restaurant.

Top image from @marcys.sg on Instagram and screenshot fromStraits Times .