Clarke Quay New Year's Eve gathering: Six more people to be charged

Six more people, aged between 19 and 23, will be charged in court today for alleged breaches of Covid-19 safe management measures (SMMs) at Clarke Quay on New Year's Eve.

Another 11 individuals were issued composition fines of $1,000 each for breaching safe management rules, said the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) yesterday.

It brings the total number of people facing charges over the incident to 10, while 15 have been given composition fines.

This follows its investigations into a large gathering of hundreds on New Year's Eve in a spontaneous countdown party in front of Riverside Point, with videos of the rowdy crowd shared online.

The multi-ministry task force tackling Covid-19 here said last month that the gathering had led to blatant breaches of safe management rules, making it a potential superspreader event.

In January, Harjaz Singh, Verma Pulkit, Kotra Venkata Sai Rohankrishna and William Alexander Brooks-Potts, aged between 19 and 22, were hauled to court to face charges over failing to keep a 1m safe distance and not wearing a mask near Read Bridge in Clarke Quay at midnight on Jan 1.

Verma allegedly attended a gathering with eight others to celebrate the new year, while Singh is accused of attending a gathering with at least six others.

Kotra is accused of attending a gathering in a Spider-Man costume with three others, where he interacted with about 20 people.

The four men are scheduled to be back in court on March 8.

Further investigations into other individuals are ongoing, URA said.

"As we are still in the midst of a pandemic, it is important that everyone is socially responsible and complies with the prevailing SMMs.

"We urge everyone to play their part to protect their own health and that of others," URA said.

Those found guilty of breaching Covid-19 regulations can be fined up to $10,000, jailed for up to six months, or both.