SINGAPORE - The authorities will be keeping a close eye on gastropub Escobar to ensure that it carries out an agreed removal of drug references and images of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar on its premises, said the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) and the Singapore Police Force (SPF) in a joint statement on Friday (Feb 9).
"CNB and SPF take a serious view of individuals and establishments that put up displays or references which glamorise drug use or criminal activities," the statement said, adding that marketing strategies should be done in a manner "consistent with Singapore's policies to keep our country safe and secure".
It also clarified that the theme, logo and interior design of food and beverage establishments are not governed under the police's licensing conditions for public entertainment outlets.
A CNB spokesman said in an earlier statement that the use of Escobar's name and likeness is "highly objectionable and runs counter to Singapore's zero-tolerance approach towards drugs and to our efforts in preventive drug education".
"The glamorisation of a drug kingpin and associated drug use is irresponsible and insensitive," added the spokesman.
The bar's owner, Mr Stan Sri Ganesh, 36, said he agreed to revamp the establishment's logo and images in Escobar's likeness on the premises after consultations with the CNB and police on Wednesday (Feb 7).
He hopes to unveil the new logo in a month or so.
The gastropub also apologised in a Facebook post on Wednesday and announced the logo revamp then.
The Escobar-themed gastropub, however, will not change its name as it is a common Spanish surname, he said. "We now recognise that this could be a sensitive issue to some members of the community. We were just using his image as a pop culture reference, but in no way wanted to condone or glorify the actions of Pablo Escobar."
The three-week-old gastropub in China Square Central came under the spotlight after the Embassy of Colombia took issue with its branding last week.
In a three-page letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs dated Feb 2, it expressed "serious concern" that the bar was paying tribute to the "worst criminal in the history of Colombia", Agence France-Presse reported.
"The Embassy of the Republic of Colombia wants to share some information to refresh the horror that this criminal caused in Colombia...not to mention the drug addiction he promoted and the war he declared," the letter said.
"If the idea of the owner was to make his or her business look profitable and trendy, it is inducing... confusion, because Colombia is not what 'Narcos-Netflix' portrays any more," the letter said, referring to the drama series on Colombian drug cartels shown on the American video streaming service.
Escobar was a notorious Colombian drug kingpin in the 1980s whose Medellin cartel supplied up to 80 per cent of the cocaine smuggled into the United States, making him the wealthiest criminal in history. Thousands of people lost their lives during his reign over the cartel as he often kidnapped and killed anyone who stood in his way.
