Lest you’ve been hibernating beneath a cave, you would surely have heard of the recent KTV clusters: ‘unfortunate’ incidents that derailed a previously successful anti-pandemic campaign.
But if you haven’t, here’s a really short summary of it.
Simply put…
Singaporeans got hungry, visited KTV lounges to satiate their lust for satay; there was a COVID-19 spreader amidst them and the rest is, as they say, history.
If you desire a more concise version, you can read the full story of events here.
And now that we’re done with the backdrop, let’s move on to the next one:
Police crackdowns.
Police Arrested 29 women & Deported 10 Women After Raids in KTV Lounges Operating as Eateries
According to Channel News Asia, the police has been hard at work this week, with their focal targets being, you guessed it, shady KTV outlets ‘masquerading’ as food and beverage (F&B) outlets.
According to the news report, an island-wide anti-crime operation was conducted between 13 and 15 July, during which they found a total of 281 people in some 27 outlets.
Twenty-nine women, aged between 20 and 47, were apprehended for reported offences under the Women’s Charter, the Immigration Act, and the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.
10 women of varying nationalities also had their short-term visit passes or work passes cancelled and will face deportation.
“They had served as social hostesses within three pivoted KTV lounges operating as F&B outlets and intermingled with different groups of patrons,” said the police.
Deemed as “undesirable immigrants”, they will be prohibited from re-entering Singapore.
“Short-term visitors cannot engage in any form of employment (paid or unpaid), or in any business, profession or occupation in Singapore.
“Upon their deportation, they will be barred from re-entering Singapore,” said the police.
Investigations are still ongoing.
In addition, eleven KTV venues are under suspicion of breaching COVID-19 measures. You can view them here.
For the breaching of COVID-19 safe management measures, offenders could face up to six months’ imprisonment, a fine of up to S$10,000 or both.
Growing
Unfortunately, the KTV clusters are expected to grow.
As Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health at NUS told local media: “Contact tracing is much harder in such settings as patrons will be unwilling to come forward to admit they have been to such locations, even if it is purportedly for meals.”
“The alleged hostesses are also unlikely to volunteer information about the people they have been in contact with.”
As such, Dr Leong Hoe Nam, an infectious diseases specialist, believes that the KTV cluster could be a weak link in Singapore’s fight against COVID-19, since both patrons and hostesses may be trying to lie low.
This could lead to seemingly unlinked cases that could, in turn, cause ripples across Singapore.
Featured Image: Facebook (Supreme KTV)
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