SINGAPORE — The two-day alcohol ban in Little India began yesterday (Dec 15) without the police having to take anyone to task, even though businesses said they were badly affected.

As of 10pm — 16 hours after the ban kicked in — no retailers were caught selling alcohol and no one was caught drinking alcohol in public places, a police spokesperson said.

The ban was among several measures the authorities had rolled out in the wake of a riot in Little India last Sunday.

Yesterday, two more Indian nationals were charged in court with rioting, bringing the total number of men facing charges to 33.

Police presence across Little India was stepped up, as six to seven officers patrolled in groups on foot.

Businesses felt the heat of the blanket ban thrown across Little India.

Stand-alone liquor stores in the area were closed, while small provision shops said business was badly hit.

Mr P.N. Rajan, owner of a provision shop at Kerbau Road, said his store only had five customers at 5pm, some seven hours after his store was opened for business. “No foreign worker, no liquor, very slow business,” he said.

Three of his staff stayed back on Friday night to cover the liquor shelves with sheets of newspapers. Convenience stores around the vicinity – Elyite Exims Trading and S&YMD — had also sealed off the liquor section.

Restaurants along Race Course Road said they had fewer customers yesterday. Some had less than five customers the entire day, even though they remained hopeful that customers might drop in for supper much later in the night.

“Usually on Saturdays around this time (7pm), our tables (are) full and even reservations are full. But now the restaurant is empty, there’s totally nobody,” said the chief chef of Mustard Restaurant, Mr Mateen Deshmukh. Only two of the 10 tables in the restaurant were taken an hour later.

Even though signs were put up across Little India to advise the public on the alcohol ban, some were unaware of the coverage.

Mr Andrew D and two other friends had requested for alcohol at the Indian Express restaurant only to be told that there was a ban in place.

“We heard about the ban a few days ago but we didn’t think it was for restaurants too. I think it’s a bit surprising because the restaurants can actually handle their own customers if they get drunk,” said the 28-year-old student.

Not all restaurants witnessed a dip in business. The Banana Leaf Apollo and Delhi restaurants had customers waiting in line to get a seat.

“Even though business is not as good like normal Saturdays, it’s not so bad for us because we can rely on our regular customers to still come in. On top of that, we also have promotions,” said Ms Helen Umengan, manager of Delhi Restaurant.

She also noted that some customers had requested for alcohol to be served, but her staff explained the situation to customers. “They were understanding and didn’t cause trouble,” she added.

A pub TODAY visited at around 9pm had no customers inside. “Zero tables, tonight,” said Ms Mun Pui Sun, staff at Poseidon Karaoke Pub.

“On normal Saturdays, there will be five to six tables already full but because (of the) ban, there’s no customers now,” she added. The pub expects an 80 per cent dip in earnings for the weekend.

Another pub located further down in Rowell Road was closed for the night.

With the alcohol ban ending on Monday 6am, businesses were not optimistic that the situation will pick up. “I’m not expecting anything for tomorrow’s business because for us the best days (are) Friday night and Saturday. Our customers don’t like to come on Sundays because of the crowd, (and) many people,” said Mustard Restaurant’s Mr Mateen Deshmukh.