Singapore: The President’s Office said on Friday (October 22) that the Presidential Palace will hold an open house on November 4 to celebrate Deepavali.

Visitors can only enter the outdoor spaces and gardens of the Presidential Palace.

The President’s Office stated in a press release that those who wish to visit the Presidential Palace on November 4 must apply for tickets in advance.

Those who apply for tickets must choose a two-hour period starting at 9 am, 11 am, 1 pm, or 3 pm. Each application is limited to a maximum of two tickets.

There is no charge for tickets, and tickets will be allocated by the electronic voting system. The President’s Office stated that the voting results are final.

The Presidential Palace was last opened to the public on August 28th to commemorate the National Day.

Access to the outdoor garden only
The President’s Office stated that there will be no performances, tours, stalls, food trucks or souvenirs for sale during the Deepavali Open Day. There will also be no guided tours in the main building.

“Visitors must wear masks at all times. Activities that wear masks, including eating food and beverages, are not allowed,” it said. “Safe distance ambassadors will be deployed to ensure that visitors comply with safe distance measures.”

Each ticket allows one visitor to participate in the Deepavali Open Day event during a specified time period. Children including infants must also hold a valid ticket to enter the venue.

The presidential palace is usually open to the public five days a year.

Istana was originally scheduled to open in May this year to celebrate Eid al-Fitr and Labor Day, but after tightening measures due to the surge in COVID-19 cases, the event was cancelled.

Those who are interested can apply here for tickets from 10 am on October 25th to 10 am on October 26th.

Singapore: The Singapore Food Authority (SFA) said on Friday (October 22) that it is investigating a meal solution for residents of Westlite Jalan Tukang Dormitory.

This is after a photo that appeared in an online article last week showing insects and hair in the food package.

Workers in the dormitory complained about the quality of food provided by external catering suppliers and the lack of hygiene in the preparation process. Sembcorp Marine said on Friday that it had “taken the responsibility of the catering supplier” and apologized to the workers living in the dormitory.

In response to CNA’s inquiry, SFA stated that it had not received any feedback from residents of Westlite Tukang Dormitory on the food.

The agency pointed out that in May, it cooperated with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to issue food safety advisories to dormitory operators and employers of migrant workers.

SFA said: “Remind operators/management and employers to only work with licensed catering suppliers, and encourage workers to maintain good personal hygiene and put time-stamped labels on catering food.”

Since 2019, SFA has taken about 20 enforcement actions against licensed food companies that provide food to migrant workers’ dormitories. The agency said it included warning letters and constituting fines.

“All SFA-licensed food companies, including catering suppliers, must comply with SFA’s regulatory requirements. SFA conducts regular inspections of these institutions to ensure compliance,” it added.

SFA stated that all licensed catering suppliers must comply with the same requirements, regardless of who they serve food to.

These include time stamping meals to inform people of the recommended “consumption” time. According to the agency, it is set to 4 hours after the cooked dishes are placed in a dangerous temperature zone of 5 degrees Celsius to 60 degrees Celsius after they are first prepared for consumption.

According to its website, Catering Solutions offers bento boxes specially designed to ensure freshness.

“Our specially designed bento box is air-tightly sealed and gas flushed when necessary to maintain the freshness of the food and prevent contamination,” it said.

Food quality is one of the questions raised by residents of Westlite Jalan Tukang Dormitory. They also complained about dragging COVID-19 cases out of the dormitory.

The Ministry of Manpower admitted that due to the “unexpected” increase in COVID-19 cases in the dormitory, “insufficient resources” were deployed, resulting in delays in transferring these cases to nursing or rehabilitation facilities.

Singapore: On Friday (October 22), a 27-year-old man was accused in court of violating the COVID-19 stay-at-home notice and having dinner with a woman, putting others at risk of infection.

Ang Chenrui was accused of leaving his room at the JW Marriott Hotel South Beach in Singapore four times during the 14-day home notice.

According to a press release issued by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA), Mr. Hong returned to Singapore on April 17 this year and received a home notice, ordering him to stay in a dedicated facility until May 1.

He was taken to the hotel after immigration clearance but allegedly violated his home notice three days later.

Ang was accused of leaving the hotel room between 8 am and 11:35 pm on April 20. He allegedly went to 416 seats in the Serangoon Center, and then had dinner with the female guest in a nearby coffee shop. Afterwards, they allegedly went to the NEX shopping mall.

The next day, Ang was accused of leaving the hotel room again and sitting in a chair along the public corridor. He allegedly left the hotel room on April 22 and went to the lobby on the first floor of the hotel. ICA said that in the two incidents, after the hotel staff found him, he returned to his room.

ICA stated that on April 24, Ang was approved by the authorities to go to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for consultation.

ICA added that the hotel arranged for Ang to be taken to IMH by special transportation, but when Ang got there, he did not register for consultation.

Instead, he allegedly went home and saw his tenants again. According to the fare meter, they went to Orchard Road together, and then went to a restaurant near Farrer Park MRT station. After this, Ang allegedly went home again.

“The hotel subsequently discovered that Ang had not registered for consultation and issued an alert to ICA about Ang’s disappearance,” the authorities said.

“ICA law enforcement officers subsequently found Ang in his home. Ang was subsequently admitted by IMH, where he completed the remaining days of the home notification.”

The ICA press release or court documents did not disclose the details of his admission to IMH in April.

Ang was not remanded and was released on bail of S$10,000. He will appear in court again in December to plead guilty.

For every charge that puts others at risk of infection, he may be sentenced to up to six months in prison, a fine of up to S$10,000, or both.