Last year, when social gatherings were limited to five, you could maybe plead negligence if your gathering happened to have six people.
But when you hold a birthday party with 40 participants, you may as well go to the nearest court, hold out your hands, and ask the judge for a fine.
Especially if you set up a sound system so people can make speeches.
Restaurant Let About 40 People Hold a Birthday Party & Even Provided Sound System for Them
On 12 Sept last year, when we thought leisure travel would magically return by Jan 2021, The Banana Leaf Apolo hosted a birthday party at its Little India Arcade outlet in Serangoon Road.
According to The Straits Times, the popular restaurant chain had taken an advance booking for it earlier.
Not four, not five, but 40 people turned up for the birthday bash on the second floor of the outlet.
Not only did the restaurant exceed the maximum permissible group size for social gatherings, they even set up a sound system, microphones, and projector, so customers could make speeches and play a video montage.
Food was also laid out as a self-service buffet – a favourite of the coronavirus’ – and tables were placed close to one another.
The party lasted for around four hours, from 6pm to 10pm.
Of course, the attendees intermingled with one another and did not observe a safe distance during the party.
Unbeknownst to the restaurant, safe distancing ambassadors had observed the gathering. They noted that the outlet manager was not present, as he was involved with another event on the ground floor.
Fined $10,000
The outlet was ordered to close last year for 10 days from 26 Oct to 4 Nov, for flouting the safety measures.
On 20 Jan this year, the Singapore Tourism Board filed a magistrate’s complaint against the restaurant for its multiple breaches under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) Regulations 2020.
For each of its offences, the restaurant chain could have been fined $10,000.
But yesterday (5 May), District Judge Ng Cheng Thiam handed out a $10,000 for all of its breaches instead.
As the prosecution noted, this event could easily have turned into a super spreader if one of the participants had COVID-19.
“Taken together, the event posed a very high risk of transmission of Covid-19 if anyone had been infected with the virus and could well have given rise to a Covid-19 cluster,” they said.
The Banana Leaf Apolo opened for business in 1974 and is known for its fish head curry.
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