SINGAPORE - Three food and beverage outlets have been ordered to close for 10 days for flouting safe management measures.
Another 15 have also been fined, said the Ministry of Sustainability and Environment (MSE) on Thursday (Sept 17).
These breaches were found during stepped-up enforcement checks by government agencies during the Sept 12-13 weekend.
Jiang Hu Xia Ke at Orchard Plaza is one of the three outlets ordered to close. Officers arrived at 11pm last Saturday and saw 13 customers pouring drinks from metal teapots to consume at their tables.
Investigations showed that the teapots contained beer and the restaurant supervisor admitted to concealing alcohol consumption using the teapots.
Bottles of beer sold by the restaurant were also concealed at the bottom of a fridge storing drinks.
Under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020, selling and consuming alcoholic beverages is prohibited after 10.30pm.
On Tuesday, the Singapore Tourism Board ordered the restaurant to close from Wednesday for a period of 10 days till Sept 25.
Another F&B outlet ordered to close is 96 Food Fusion & Bar at 2 Venture Drive in Jurong East.
Officers who arrived at the bar last Saturday at 9pm saw eight patrons seated together and intermingling at a long table.
The Singapore Food Agency on Wednesday ordered the operator to close from Thursday to Sept 26, also for 10 days.
The third F&B outlet ordered to close is Frog Meat Fish Head at 5 Mosque Street in Chinatown.
On Sunday, the restaurant accepted a booking of 10 customers and seated the group at two tables in a private dining room, which was observed by officers who arrived around 10pm.
When asked, a staff member claimed the diners at the two tables did not know one another.
However upon further questioning, the customers admitted they were colleagues, said MSE.
The Singapore Tourism Board also issued an order on Wednesday requiring the operator of Frog Meat Fish Head to close its premises from Thursday to Sept 26.
Of the 15 other outlets that were penalised, 10 were fined $1,000 for breaches, such as allowing groups of more than five to be seated together or to intermingle between tables, and seating groups of customers less than 1m apart.
The other five outlets were fined $2,000 for repeat offences.
On Wednesday, government agencies conducted additional inspections on 57 F&B outlets in known hot spots, said MSE.
Seven were found to have breached safe management measures, such as having groups of more than five seated together or intermingling between tables, seating groups of customers less than 1m apart and serving and allowing consumption of alcohol past 10.30pm.
The agencies are reviewing the breaches and considering the appropriate enforcement actions, said MSE.
Minister for Sustainability and Environment Grace Fu said in a Facebook post on Thursday night that it is regrettable that the authorities continue to find F&B outlets flouting safe management measures.
She added: "These actions are placing Singaporeans at risk. A resurgence of Covid-19 infections would set us back in the progress that we have made in transiting towards a new normal."
