SINGAPORE - Six "party buses" - often decked out in strobe lights and catering to those who frequent popular nightlife spots - have been confiscated by the authorities over the last two months.
The offences include illegal modifications and having people without a valid licence drive the buses. Such buses were operating before this year and reports said they began resuming their services during phase two of Singapore's reopening.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Thursday (Sept 10) said on Facebook that modifying the seats to remove proper safety restraints like seat belts threatens passenger safety and is against the law.
The buses could also "potentially thwart Singapore's efforts to limit Covid-19 transmission during this crucial period" as they may allow passengers to ignore safe distancing measures unseen.
LTA said those who come across such illegally modified buses can alert it at the One Motoring website.
The authority's operations in the last two months against the party buses have also uncovered other traffic offences such as problems with insurance coverage and the payment of road tax, and it will continue to investigate these offences.
The warning from the LTA comes a day after the Ministry of Health on Wednesday said it remained "very concerned" about the lack of safe distancing at food and beverage outlets.
Of particular concern are popular nightspots, which often see groups continuing to drink alcohol in public after 10.30pm.
This is despite a ban drinking in public from 10.30pm to 7am since 2015, with retail shops not allowed to sell takeaway alcohol during that period.