Geylang Eatery Owner Fined $9,000 For Allowing More Than 5 To Dine-In Together
Among the many things Covid-19 has restricted is our ability to dine in with large groups of friends and family. Most recently, the authorities have allowed up to 5-pax dine-ins to resume.
However, a Geylang eatery owner decided to test the limits by allowing 10 people to sit at the same table behind closed doors in September 2020.
Police also discovered another table with 6 diners after receiving a tip-off from a concerned member of the public. This was during a time when only a maximum of 5 diners could sit at one table.
On top of these breaches, the Sims Avenue eatery reportedly sold alcohol to customers without a licence.
The owner of the eatery has since been fined $9,000 for failing to adhere to the permissible group size for customers and supplying liquor without a licence.
Customers found eating & drinking in 2 rooms
According to The Straits Times (ST), an anonymous man had called the police at around 11.45pm on 19 Sep 2020 and informed them of a large number of people gathering in the Sims Avenue eatery and not practising social distancing.
3 officers reportedly arrived at the location at around 2.15am only to find that the eatery had rolled down its shutters.
They then proceeded to conduct a check and found 2 rooms with patrons inside, eating and drinking.
The rooms had 6 and 10 customers inside respectively, all of whom were sitting together, having a meal. 1 room even had bottles and glasses of beer on the table.
The owner had also reportedly told his staff to sell alcoholic drinks to customers even though he does not have the licence to do so.
Geylang eatery owner asks to pay fine in instalments
In a separate report by Channel News Asia (CNA), the restaurant owner, Mr Sun, told the court that he has accepted his mistake and decided to close the restaurant.
He also asked to pay his fine in instalments as he was the sole breadwinner of his family of five, including two 21-month-old children.
The judge then ordered him to pay the fine in instalments of $1,500.
Under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act, first-time offenders may face up to 6 months’ jail and no more than a $10,000 fine.
Restaurants responsible for enforcing measures
While restaurants don’t make the rules, they are responsible for enforcing them.
We hope that restaurant owners can see the severity of the consequences should they fail to abide by the rules.
Everyone has to play a part and remind one another of these rules so that we won’t roll back on the good progress we’ve made.
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