20 Massage Outlets Caught Breaching COVID-19 Mask Rules; Customers Were Also Fined $300 Each

Life can get depressing at times, leaving you feeling both physically and mentally drained.

Especially when you’re on work-from-home and you just can’t glare at your annoying colleague through the screen and have to resort to passive-aggressive words instead.

Thankfully, massage parlours still remain open in this Heightened Alert phase for you to visit and finally get some rest and relaxation time, making you feel like you finally can breathe again.

Not without your mask, though.

No Mask, No Massage

Lest you didn’t know, customers and personnel at massage parlours are still required to wear masks at all times in the outlet, including during the massage process.

The only exceptions to this are if customers are doing facials, bathing in onsens, or lounging in saunas.

In a press release by the police on 16 June, they announced that 20 massage outlets were found to have breached these rules during enforcement checks.

As a result, these outlets were slapped with fines and ordered to close for 10 days.

S$1000 fines were imposed on each outlet, while customers who were found to have their masks off were fined S$300 each.

Customers who had their masks off were not reminded of the rules by the masseuse before the massage process begins, either.

So the next time you go for your massage, don’t wait for the masseuse to remind you to put your mask on first.

Enforcement Checks Will Continue

The police reiterated the importance of massage outlets ensuring all staff and customers have their masks on throughout their time in the outlet.

Enforcement checks will also be conducted regularly to ensure that safe distancing measures are in place.

Rules under the Massage Establishments Act still apply and the police will enforce them too.

These checks aren’t anything new, yet there still remains quite a number of massage outlets not complying with the rules.

Last month, a total of 25 massage outlets were fined and ordered to close for breaching the mask-on rules as well, with 23 customers fined as well.

The police had visited around 850 outlets at the time during the last two weeks of May as a result of the need for stepping up on enforcement during the Heightened Alert period.

For massage outlets that don’t follow safe distancing measures, they may get fined up to S$10,000, and operators may even face a jail term of up to six months for the first offence.

However, if they continue to commit such offences, the fine may snowball up to S$20,000 and a jail term of up to a year.

Additionally, members of the public were also advised to take the measures seriously as well.

Those who breach the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) Regulations 2020 will face up to six months of jail time and a S$10,000 fine.

So unless you’re putting on a facial mask, it’s best to ensure your own face mask remains on.

Featured