The organiser of the Singapore Sky Lantern Festival (SSLF) has revealed why attendees’ tickets are non-refundable although they couldn’t release their lanterns on the event day.
A company director was quoted as saying that they couldn’t give a full refund as they “do not know how much some of the attendees have paid”.
Image courtesy of Sheena Mulani
Amid differing opinions over the refunds, the company will gather feedback from attendees on the matter.
Director of SSLF organiser Asian Couture and Boutique Mr Steven Lau provided this information to TODAY Online.
Speaking to reporters, he noted that some attendees had received a 50% discount on their tickets.
Therefore, he explained that the company cannot give a full refund as it doesn’t know how much some of the attendees paid.
The company’s directors also have different opinions as to whether they should give refunds, Mr Lau said.
In fact, they were “engaging in an intensive discussion” about this.
Image courtesy of Sheena Mulani
To that end, the company plans to issue a form to attendees to gather feedback, Mr Lau said.
This form will have a few options, including a partial refund and the chance to attend another event while offsetting its ticket price with what customers previously paid.
It should be available from Monday (4 Mar), he added.
After attendees’ responses are in, the company will make a “more concrete decision” on refunds, he maintained.
Mr Lau’s position stands in contrast with that of Ms Shiermie Bautista, owner and founder of Asian Couture and Boutique.
On 27 Feb, she posted on Facebook that tickets for SSLF were “final and non-refundable”.
Attendees can, however, use the tickets for a rescheduled event, which would be sometime in the first week of April.
She also advised those unable to attend the new date to put their tickets up for sale on the TicketSwap website.
In response to MS News‘ queries, Ms Shiermie explained that the SSLF tickets were non-refundable as 2,500 individuals had collected their lanterns.
She also confirmed that SSLF ticketholders will be able to release tethered lanterns at the rescheduled event. This is regardless of whether they had previously collected lanterns.
However, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) told MS News on 29 Feb that it had not given clearance for the new event.
This was because SCDF was still following up with the organiser on the details and implementation of the fire safety guidelines necessary to host the event.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson from the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) told MS News on 29 Feb that it was aware of the organiser’s intent to reschedule the event.
But as of 28 Feb, the organiser had not shared any details such as the date, venue, and how it plans to conduct the event.
Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) told TODAY that Asian Couture and Boutique had reached out to it about holding another similar event.
SDC “reiterated the need to apply for all necessary licences and permits” and abide by all requirements from the authorities before contacting them over a possible venue.
The saga erupted when attendees of the SSLF that was initially due to happen on 21 Feb found themselves unable to release their lanterns due to “unforeseen circumstances”. Instead of real candles, they received LED lights.
The sudden turn of events led to much disappointment all around.
Source: Shiermie Bautista on Facebook
In a Facebook post on 28 Feb, Ms Shiermie shared screenshots of conversations she claimed to have with SCDF and CAAS on the SSLF. The images appeared to show them giving her a list of conditions to meet to obtain approval for the event.
Some of the conditions include tethering sky lanterns at all times and having safety marshals on-site to supervise the event.
However, SDC told MS News on 22 Feb that the organisers were unable to obtain the necessary licences and clearance to meet safety requirements the SCDF mandated.
SCDF subsequently told MS News on 23 Feb that the organisers had conducted a trial on 19 Feb.
The outcome was “unsatisfactory”, SCDF said, adding that one of the lighted lanterns caused a small fire on the artificial turf during the trial.
Ms Shiermie has since posted a video of what happened during the trial. It showed Mr Lau in a green vest lighting a candle inside a sky lantern.
Source: Shiermie Bautista on Facebook
The lantern quickly rose into the sky due to the hot air, but couldn’t float away as it was tethered.
Source: Shiermie Bautista on Facebook
However, a woman in a white top and black pants, identified as an F&B vendor, wasn’t so successful.
Her lantern failed to rise and flopped around on the grass. In the video, she audibly exclaimed that her lantern couldn’t fly.
Source: Shiermie Bautista on Facebook
Meanwhile, a male voice off-camera said: “Please don’t burn my grass.”
Unfortunately, smoke subsequently appeared, possibly indicating that the grass had caught fire.
The man off-camera then told the pair to “stop now” as the grass was already burning.
Ms Shiermie claimed in her post that the next day, SCDF told them not to use open fires and suggested that they use LED.
She told the force that this wasn’t possible as it was a day before the event and attendees had already booked flights to Singapore just for it.
She then claimed that they were initially allowed to use candles on the event day but it was found that there were not enough fire extinguishers.
The release of the lanterns was thus rescheduled, she added, though the music festival went ahead.
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Featured image courtesy of Sheena Mulani and Shiermie Bautista on Facebook.
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