3 Outlets Ordered To Close Temporarily For Breaching Measures, One Even Poured Alcohol Into Teapot

On this tiny island we call home, residents can be divided into two distinct groups of people.

One is the Law-Abiding Citizens, often seen wearing masks even when they’re pooping alone at home.

The other group is the Sovereigns, who would rather face fines and jail terms than obey government orders.

The problem with the Sovereigns is that only 0.02% of them will formally declare themselves to be one.

The rest, who are just as Sovereign as the Sovereign Lady of Shunfu, prefer to keep their identity a secret.

While the Law Abiding Citizens seem to be gaining more members every day, the few remaining Sovereigns seem determined to make life difficult for everyone else.

3 Outlets Ordered To Close Temporarily For Breaching Measures, One Even Poured Alcohol Into Teapot

A bar at Science Park Drive and two restaurants who flouted safe distancing rules have been ordered to close by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), reported The Straits Times.

The first outlet on the list is also the most flagrant offender – S-Tripes Hotpot, a restaurant in Havelock Road.

As part of safe management measures, the sale of alcohol after 10.30pm was prohibited in the hotpot restaurant.

So the eatery had two choices:

1. Follow the rules
2. Follow the rules

Yes, there is only one real choice here. However, the restaurant chose to sell alcohol anyway, and even poured the alcoholic beverages into teapots and empty green tea bottles to avoid detection.

The employees were also not wearing masks or wearing them improperly, despite being reminded of the requirement.

The restaurant was fined $2,000 for the offences, according to ST.

Similarly, Whimsical Bar, whose owners must surely have been inebriated when brainstorming company names, were ordered to close with immediate effect after SFA officers discovered the following violations:

• the bar’s customers were consuming alcoholic beverages after 10.30pm
• it had allowed groups of more than five to sit together and mingle
• the bar was operating without a food shop licence and its tables were spaced less than 1m apart

So, they basically violated every single Covid-19 regulation?

It can only reopen once it obtains a license, said SFA.

Its adjacent unit, the Create Kitchen, was also ordered to close from 2 Sept to 11 Sept after it was found to have violated similar safe management measures.

Both businesses were fined $1,000 each for the offences.

First-Time Offenders Can Be Fined $10,000

You may not have noticed this because you’ve been at home for the last eight months, but the authorities are taking this pandemic rather seriously.

Restrictions are plentiful, and penalties stiff.

Under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020, first-time offenders can be fined up to $10,000, jailed for up to six months, or both.

And if you’re at a food establishment and a waiter has just served your beer in a teapot, it’s probably a good idea to get the heck out of there, because they clearly aren’t concerned about the safety of their customers.

For those who need an update about what Covid-19 measures have changed, you might want to check out this guide we wrote: