An enforcement blitz carried out in South Bridge Road, Selegie Road and Geylang Road on Tuesday (13 July) has led to the police arresting twenty women for their suspected involvement in vice activities at three KTV lounges that have been converted into F&B outlets.
The women are of Vietnamese, Malaysian, Thai and South Korean nationalities, and are aged between 20 and 34.
They will be investigated for offences under the Women’s Charter, the Immigration Act, as well as the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.
In addition, according to the police, the three KTV lounges are under investigation for breach of safe management regulations under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) Regulations 2020.
This was because the operators of the KTV lounges had allegedly offered hostessing services within their outlets.
Dice games were allegedly provided at one of the outlets. This is not allowed under the regulations.
It was also added that the Singapore Food Agency will look into revoking the food licenses of operators who have been found to commit severe breaches of safe management regulations.
If an establishment loses its food license, it has to halt operations immediately until its application for a new license is authorised.
If found guilty of non-compliance with safe-distancing measures, offenders could face imprisonment of up to six months, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.
42 New COVID-19 Cases Linked to KTV Cluster on 14 July
On Wednesday (14 July), a total of 42 cases were found to be linked to a COVID-19 cluster involving KTV outlets and nightclubs.
Among these 42 cases is a 40-year-old passenger on board a Dream Cruises ship. According to Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) director of cruise Annie Chang, the man was identified as a close contact of a confirmed positive case and was immediately put into isolation.
The cruise ship was then forced to turn back after the positive COVID-19 case was discovered.
Currently, the total size of the KTV lounge cluster is at 54, which makes it one of Singapore’s largest active clusters.
When asked whether this new cluster will have an impact on the latest easing of COVID-19 restrictions, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said, “We thought long and hard about it, and given that we just started this on Monday, and that we now have a much higher level of vaccination rate… there will not be any reversal.”
I can hear the nationwide sighs of relief. But there’s still no excuse for any breach of regulations!
He also added that over 70% of Singapore’s population has received the first dose of the vaccine while 40% has received both doses, which puts us in a much better position than before.
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