187 being probed after raids on nightlife outlets
Operators of 16 establishments found to have committed Covid-19 and other breaches
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The police are investigating 187 people following an islandwide crackdown on public entertainment and nightlife outlets.
Enforcement checks were conducted between Dec 12 last year and Jan 23 this year, and operators, staff and customers of 103 such establishments are under investigation, the police said in a statement yesterday.
The operators of 16 outlets were found to have committed various breaches under the Public Entertainments Act, Liquor Control (Supply and Consumption) Act and Covid-19 regulations.
Among a series of enforcement checks conducted over the two months, the police highlighted three raids.
On Dec 18, officers from the Bedok Police Division raided an office and industrial building in Lorong 23 Geylang and found 37 men and 12 women, aged between 21 and 42, gathered in an unlicensed KTV outlet.
There were private rooms within the unit, each equipped with a karaoke system, speakers and microphones. Alcohol was also said to have been provided to patrons.
During the raid, one of the patrons, a 37-year-old man, allegedly cursed at the police officers and was arrested.
Two other men, aged 29 and 32, were identified as the operators of the unit and were arrested for supplying liquor without a licence, flouting Covid-19 rules and working without a permit.
The police also arrested two Vietnamese women, aged 22 and 28, who allegedly provided hostessing services at the unit.
The rest of the patrons are being investigated for being part of a social gathering that is over the legal limit of five persons.
In another sting operation on Dec 31, officers from the same division raided a shophouse unit along Geylang Road that was similarly used as a KTV outlet without a licence.
The officers found 21 men and 19 women, aged between 27 to 63, on the premises.
The alleged operators - two men and two women, aged between 27 and 44 - were arrested while the other patrons are being investigated for flouting Covid-19 safe management measures.
In the final incident highlighted by the police, officers from the Central Police Division raided a private residential unit along Beng Wan Road in Bendemeer on Jan 7, where seven men and three women had gathered to eat and sing.
