Flouting Covid-19 rules, it's still happy hour for some after 10.30pm
This article is more than 12 months old
SINGAPORE The party continues past 10.30pm for some people despite the risk of being caught and penalised over breaching Covid 19 safety regulations, with a few coffee shops and eateries around the country turning into hangouts for a number of drinkers after they have closed for the night.
Checks by The Sunday Times from April found groups of people flouting the law for their alcohol fix.
Often seen in public areas, they drink beyond the 10.30pm deadline set under the Covid 19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) Regulations 2020.
A common tactic would see a coffee shop shuttered and the lights turned down while the drinking continues inside.
In response to queries, the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment said that more than 12,000 fines had been issued to individuals for breaching safe distancing and safe management measures as well as committing mask related offences from April last year to end September this year.
At Block 436 in Hougang Avenue 8, a void deck area used by senior citizens is occasionally taken over by men who savour wine chilled in a beer bucket.
Lower floor residents said the loud conversations sometimes affect their sleep.
She said Most get the message (to leave) but some don't, more so when they're intoxicated. It is not just in the heartland that these laws are disregarded.
On two Saturday nights this month, large groups of men were spotted socialising and drinking on a bridge in Seletar North Link. Empty beer cans and discarded food packets littered the area.
Two pubs off Upper Thomson Road seemed to stay open despite the 10.30pm ruling against drinking. ST PHOTO: ZAIHAN YUSOF
Aside from cyclists, joggers and passing heavy vehicles, few venture there. By midnight, it got a little rowdy because many had had too much to drink.
They all scrambled to their feet when they spotted an approaching police car.
Over a loudhailer, a police officer warned them to stop drinking and return to their dormitory.
Under the law, drinking alcohol in a public area after 10.30pm is illegal.
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