Over 200 fines issued on April 12 against those who flout safe distancing measures including at markets, hawker centres

SINGAPORE — More than 200 composition fines were issued on Sunday (April 12) to members of the public who did not comply with elevated safe distancing measures, including 30 for offences committed at hawker centres and markets.

Police assistance was required for over 20 cases when members of the public were not cooperative, the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources said in a statement.

A total of 152 enforcement actions, including 32 fines, were taken over the long weekend against those who did not adhere to safe distancing requirements at or near markets and cooked food sections of hawker centres, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said in a separate statement.

On Sunday itself, 30 fines of S$300 were issued after 380 enforcement officers were deployed to ensure that members of the public complied with safe distancing measures in these areas.

Police assistance was also required for about 28 cases since Friday, where members of the public were not cooperative when asked to comply, NEA said in a statement.

It was announced on Saturday that anyone flouting the circuit breaker measures would be fined S$300 right away. This means no more warnings will be issued beforehand. Repeat offenders will face higher fines, or prosecution in court for egregious cases, NEA said.

More than 190 SG Clean Ambassadors were also deployed on Sunday to remind members of the public that eating and drinking, or any form of loitering, are not allowed at or near the cooked food sections of hawker centres, NEA said.

On Friday, crowds were still large at a few hotspots where popular markets are located, including Geylang Serai, block 505 Jurong West Street 52, blocks 104 and 105 Yishun Ring Road and blocks 20 and 21 Marsiling Lane. At their peak, queues of more than 100 people could be seen at these markets, with some of the queues starting as early as before 7am.

“Over the course of the long weekend, adherence to safe distancing requirements remained high and the queues that formed outside popular markets became more orderly and manageable as the weekend progressed, with the overall crowds at markets thinning about 50 per cent from Friday to Sunday,” NEA said.

The NEA said that on Sunday, a vast majority of patrons to the markets were seen to be donning masks, adding that many had also shifted their marketing hours to before 7am to avoid the morning crowds.

“Patrons are encouraged to further adjust to make market visits once a week, preferably on weekdays and at non-peak periods between 10am and 12pm on weekends, where fresh produce is still available,” NEA said.

“We are monitoring the situation closely and may take stronger measures if the crowd situation does not improve, to help support the current circuit breaker and halt the transmission of Covid-19 in Singapore.”

In a separate statement, Enterprise Singapore (ESG) and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said they have instructed 30 businesses to cease operations and imposed composition fines on three establishments and two delivery personnel, following enforcement checks over the long weekend.

The 30 businesses, which were instructed to cease operations, comprised businesses that had remained open despite providing non-essential services.

Composition fines of S$1,000 each were issued to Putien (127 Kitchener Road), Komala’s Vege Mart Pte Ltd (125 Dunlop Street) and Jollibee (next to Causeway Point) for failing to enforce proper safe distancing measures despite earlier warnings.

ESG and STB said they will cease to issue warnings to businesses with immediate effect. Businesses found to have failed to comply with the elevated safe distancing measures will face immediate penalties, such as composition fines, the agencies added.