SINGAPORE — It looked like a scene from an action movie: A splintered door, two halves of a doorknob blasted apart, wood chips littering the threshold. 

The smell of alcohol and a general bustle greeted reporters as they trooped into a fourth-floor residential unit at Kim San Leng Building, just a short walk from City Square Mall near Little India.

This was the aftermath of a police raid on an illegal karaoke joint. Some officers were interviewing suspects, while others guarded each of the six rooms, keeping a close watch on patrons who decided to spend their Friday (April 2) evening there.

The karaoke joint was one of three outlets found to have provided public entertainment or supplied alcohol without valid licences during an overnight raid that started late on Friday. 

Some people had also gathered in groups of more than eight, which is against Covid-19 regulations.

In a statement, the police said 45 people, aged between 24 and 66, will be investigated for allegedly flouting rules under the Public Entertainment Act and Liquor Control Act 2015, as well as for their suspected breach of Covid-19 measures.

Eight people were arrested, one of whom was a 38-year-old man with an outstanding warrant of arrest. The other seven, aged 23 to 38, were arrested for offences under the Liquor Control Act 2015 and the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.

When reporters were taken into the unit, patrons covered their faces and some of them protested when photos were taken.

Nearly all had been in the middle of Mandopop songs from singers including Jacky Cheung and Jay Chou when the police burst in.

Cans of beer and bottles of cognac lined the tables. 

‘WE’RE GOING TO BE ON THE PAPERS’

The police took the media to the other two locations as well.

At 137 Kitchener Road, at a unit above the Tampines Rovers’ Clubhouse, reporters ascended a narrow stairway into partitioned rooms. They were decorated with plush sofas and flashing neon lights, with a disco ball hanging in one room.

This was a vacant lot that the operators had converted into a KTV space, police told reporters.

“We’re going to be on the papers,” said one patron as reporters entered the room. “There are so many of them.”

The third location, also along Kitchener Road, is believed to be an office space, said the police. Operators soundproofed the windows in an effort to avoid detection.

In all, CNA observed 12 groups of patrons across the three joints, two of which had more than eight people in a group.

The police also seized television screens, karaoke equipment and liquor, loading them into a mover van.

CONTINUING ENFORCEMENT

Under the Public Entertainment Act and Liquor Control Act 2015, providing public entertainment or supplying liquor without a valid licence carries a fine of up to S$20,000 each.

Under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, employing a foreign employee without a valid work pass carries a fine of between S$5,000 and S$30,000 or a jail term of up to 12 months, or both.

The Act also states that those employed without a valid work pass face a jail term of up to two years or a fine of up to S$20,000, or both.

Those who breach Covid-19 safe-distancing rules could be jailed up to six months or fined up to S$10,000, or punished with both.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Gregory Tan, commander of the Central Police Division, said on Saturday morning that the raid was part of the police’s continuing efforts to clamp down on illegal public entertainment activities.

“The police are aware that unlicensed public entertainment outlets are operating despite Covid-19 restrictions," he said. "The offenders will be dealt with sternly under the law.” CNA

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