SINGAPORE — Over the past weekend, 23 food-and-beverage (F&B) outlets were found to have breached safe management regulations, with many of them allowing groups of more than five people seated together or intermingling between tables, or serving and allowing the consumption of alcohol past 10.30pm.

The Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) said in a news release on Tuesday (Sept 15) that government agencies are reviewing the breaches and the appropriate enforcement actions will be taken, including temporary closure of the outlets and the issuance of fines. 

In one case, an eatery in Chinatown accepted a booking of 10 patrons and seated the group in two tables within a private dining room. When asked, the employees claimed that the persons at the two tables did not know each other.

On Orchard Road, an F&B business was found to have served alcoholic drinks from metal teapots after 11pm to 13 patrons. Investigations revealed that the teapots contained beer, and the bottles of beer sold by the restaurant were concealed at the bottom of a fridge that stored drinks.

Another venue also on Orchard Road was visited by enforcement officers around midnight, and loud conversations could be heard from the locked premises. The officers gained entry into the place after giving verbal warnings to the operator to open the door, and found six patrons seated separately with no sign of drinks on their table. 

However, surveillance footage showed that these patrons had been drinking just before the officers arrived. The footage also showed the patrons and owner clearing the glasses and hiding the alcohol bottle just before opening the door to let in the officers.

At Boat Quay, a dining spot was found to have a group of 15 patrons seated across four tables for a pre-planned dinner event and were intermingling, while an F&B outlet at Jurong East allowed eight customers to sit together at a long table within the premises.

As part of stepped-up checks for compliance with regulations to prevent the spread of Covid-19, government agencies conducted more patrols of nightspots on Sept 12 and 13, with a total of 149 F&B outlets in known hot spots inspected.

These extra checks involved enforcement officers from seven government agencies, including the Singapore Police Force. The checks are on top of the daily routine inspections at F&B outlets, which include coffee shops and hawker centres across Singapore. 

In total, more than 3,000 F&B outlets were inspected over the weekend.

The governmental task force handling Singapore’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic had last announced on Sept 9 that the Government would step up enforcement checks at F&B outlets islandwide to ensure that they remain safe spaces for all.

MSA said: “Dining out is an activity that involves considerable risks because it entails gathering in enclosed spaces, without masks on, and for a prolonged duration.” 

In a Facebook post on the matter, Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, urged F&B operators and patrons to observe the rules for Singaporeans’ collective safety.

“Covid-19 remains a grave threat, and the breaching of safe management measures constitutes a serious offence,” she wrote. "We must do what we can to contain the spread of the virus, safeguard public health and livelihoods, and help Singapore to return to a Covid-safe world."