One man has landed himself in hot water after breaching a stay-home notice (SHN) to satisfy his bak kut teh craving and posting about his meal on Facebook.
Speaking in Parliament today (March 25), Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam said he was aware of the case and had asked for it to be investigated.
Shanmugam also urged members of the public to alert the police if they have any information of such behaviour, saying: “We will follow up, and we cannot allow such behaviour.”
The man, who remains unnamed, drew the ire of his Facebook friends and netizens alike when he posted photos of himself enjoying a bowl of bak kut teh at an NTUC Foodfare outlet shortly after returning from Myanmar on March 23.
SINGAPORE: Some clubs which had planned to hold promotional events on the night before their venues are slated to close have decided against such moves, they told CNA on Wednesday (Mar 25).
This follows an announcement made on Tuesday (Mar 24) that gatherings outside school and work will be limited to a maximum of 10 people from Thursday at 11.59pm to Apr 30 this year, the COVID-19 multi-ministry task force had said.
In addition, the task force said in a statement that it all entertainment venues must close, such as night clubs, discos, karaoke outlets, cinemas and theatres where it said there is a high risk of transmission due to sustained close contact over a period of time.
Speaking to CNA, Magic Carpet Lounge managing director Mr Sanjay Rekhi said that the club will close one day early and call off a promotion on Wednesday night. The promotion originally involved a free cover charge and a buy one get one free bottle promotion.
“We discussed within the club stakeholders, and the collective opinion was that it was best to be prudent and safe,” he told CNA. “We understand some of our customers may not be happy about the cancellation but at least they will be be safe.”
Magic Carpet Lounge had already implemented a host of precautionary measures prior to the Government announcement to limit events to 250 participants, said Mr Sanjay. This included keeping the club “exclusive” to the first 100 guests, temperature screenings, as well as the recording of customers’ details.
“As a business owner, I would rather be safe than sorry. Financial losses can be recovered – lives cannot be,” said Mr Sanjay. “We had started restricting our club entry to 100, we are a 4,300 square feet venue. Based on Singapore’s new policy, we are allowed 150 or 200 people in the club. But we have started restricting ourselves to the first 100 people to come into the club as early as two weeks ago.”
However, Mr Sanjay pointed out that clubs such as his need more help from landlords especially given the current economic situation.
Magic Carpet Lounge will close one day early and call off a promotion on Wednesday night. (Photo: Magic Carpet Lounge)
“We are also hoping with this government announcement of a shutdown, there is a way that we can go back … to our landlord and say that can this be termed as something like a force majeure, an act of God … and they could let us not pay rent.
“Because if not, we are going to go out of business. Before this virus thing is done, we will be done.”
In a post on Instagram, Cherry Discotheque said that its “It was nice knowing you farewell party” had been cancelled.
“We apologise for the lack of foresight,” said the post. “We bear full responsibility in our poor decision making process and are currently working to correct our operations protocols.”
VIP sofa reservations will be refunded and guests have been advised to stay home, it added.
Other clubs holding special promotions on Wednesday night included Club Lux’s “The Last Supper”. The club did not reply to CNA’s requests for comment and it is unclear if the event will proceed as planned.
In a Instagram post, Canvas Singapore said that all “club nights” will be called off with immediate effect – one day before the closures were slated to kick in.
“Safety and health should come first,” it said. “We seek the understanding and patience of our valued customers and strive to overcome this difficult time together.”
Club Lux’s “The Last Supper” promotion. (Photo: Club Lux Facebook)
Earlier on Wednesday, a joint-statement by the Singapore Tourism Board, Enterprise Singapore and Singapore Police Force emphasised that nightlife operators must continue to “strictly implement” safe distancing measures.
“We are aware a number of nightlife operators intend to host “farewell” events tonight that could result in large numbers of people congregating,” the joint-statement said.
“The Multi-Ministry Taskforce’s decision to enforce stricter safe distancing measures aims to significantly reduce the risks of seeding new local COVID-19 clusters, which could strain our healthcare system further.”
These safe distancing measures involve the suspending of events with 250 or more participants, as well as the implementation of safety measures for events with fewer than 250 participants such as reducing mingling amongst participants.
“These safe distancing measures are enforceable. Officers from government agencies including the Singapore Police Force will be on the ground to monitor the situation and carry out enforcement action over the next two days,” said the statement.
“During this time, we appeal to Singaporeans to exercise good judgement and social responsibility. This will play an important part in keeping fellow Singaporeans and our loved ones safe in the midst of this global pandemic.”
SINGAPORE – A government minister leading Singapore’s coronavirus task force broke down in tears midway through a speech in Parliament on Wednesday (March 25) as he thanked healthcare workers and others for their efforts in tackling the pandemic.
“Words are not sufficient to express our appreciation,” said Mr Lawrence Wong, his voice shaking before he abruptly stopped the speech to compose himself, asking his audience to “please give me a minute”.
He continued tearfully about a minute later: “Words are not sufficient to express our appreciation for so many Singaporeans going all out to stop the virus. But I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who’s doing their part.”
Singapore, which has been battling a coronavirus outbreak for more than two months, has seen a sharp rise in mainly imported cases in recent days to a total of 558 infections and last Saturday recorded its first two deaths from the virus.
SINGAPORE: A man who grew cannabis plants in his Yishun flat was sentenced to four years’ jail on Wednesday (Mar 25) for cultivating a Class A controlled drug and other drug-related charges.
Artamu Ibrahim, 45, pleaded guilty to one charge of cultivating two cannabis plants at Block 336A, Yishun Street 31, another charge of consuming a controlled drug and a charge of possessing a controlled drug.
A fourth charge of possessing utensils for drug consumption was taken into consideration for sentencing.
Immigration and Checkpoints Authority officers had detected glass apparatuses, suspected to be for smoking drugs, at the parcel post section of SingPost Centre.
Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers raided Artamu’s 13th-floor flat on Sep 9 last year and found two small containers containing vegetable matter in the master bedroom.
They also found two pots of cannabis plants in an improvised makeshift greenhouse, and numerous instruments and reagent used for cannabis cultivation.
Interior of a makeshift greenhouse erected within a residential unit in the vicinity of Yishun Street 31. (Photo: CNB)
Artamu was arrested and the seized plants were sent to the Health Sciences Authority.
Both plants – weighing 1.83g and 49.7g – were analysed and found to be cannabis.
Artamu admitted to cultivating cannabis at his home, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Lu Yiwei.
Artamu said he obtained information on how to grow the plants from the Internet, including information on the amount of water, humidity level, pH level and temperature required.
He built a “grow tent” for this purpose and used light bulbs, a spotlight and LED lights to boost plant growth, with fans controlling the temperature in the tent, as well as a ventilator and humidifier for optimal conditions.
On top of this, he used an electric timer to measure the timings for the fans, ventilator and lights to be switched on or off. He also measured the humidity, temperature and soil wetness in the tent with two humidity meters, a thermometer and pH readers.
Artamu also used a camera that was linked to his mobile phone to monitor the meters and the cannabis plants when he was not home.
Equipment and instructions on cultivation of cannabis plants, within a residential unit in vicinity of Yishun Street 31, raided by CNB on Sep 9, 2019. (Photo: CNB)
After his arrest, Artamu provided urine samples to CNB and drugs were detected in them.
The vegetable matter was analysed and found to be a Class A controlled drug, a type of synthetic cannabinoid.
A 52-year-old woman was also arrested at Artamu’s flat, but she has not been prosecuted.
The court heard that Artamu had been convicted in 2006 of consumption of cannabis and jailed for 10 months.
Anyone convicted of cultivating cannabis plants can be given between three and 20 years jail, fined between S$5,000 and S$40,000, or both.
It would be unconstitutional for Singapore to delay the holding of a General Election beyond the April 2021 deadline, as such a delay can only be done if a state of emergency is called, Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean said in Parliament on Tuesday.
Nor is calling a state of emergency something to be done lightly, he said. He was replying to Member of Parliament (MP) Christopher de Souza, who noted that former MP Tan Cheng Bock had suggested that the general election be postponed and that the president exercise her power to create a caretaker government.
Amid the current Covid-19 crisis, the choice that Singapore faces is between hoping that the situation will stabilise in time so that elections can be held then, or settle the elections early to give the new government a full and fresh mandate to take tough decisions in the interests of the country, said Mr Teo.
“When you are sailing into a storm, you want to be certain of who your captain is, and that he will not be changed halfway,” he added.
SINGAPORE: Singapore is “only at the beginning of a very long fight” against COVID-19, said National Development Minister Lawrence Wong on Wednesday (Mar 25) as he warned that the outbreak could continue for “many more months until the end of the year and perhaps even beyond”.
In an update on the Government’s response to the novel coronavirus outbreak here, Mr Wong outlined how the country has ramped up its measures over the past weeks. These will be kept under constant review with Singapore now at a “critical phase” in its fight against the disease, he said.
After experiencing an initial wave of imported cases from China, Singapore is now facing a second and much bigger wave of imported cases from the rest of the world, especially from the United States and Europe.
This reflects the speed at which the virus is spreading outside of China and around the world, Mr Wong told the House.
He added that there is no telling how long this current wave of returnees and imported cases will last as more Singaporeans may want to return home with lockdowns being announced by more countries.
Singapore now has 38,000 people serving out stay-home notices and the numbers will grow with the rising number of returnees, he said.
To respond to the new challenge, Mr Wong noted that Singapore has been rapidly adjusting and updating its measures.
These include tightening border controls, with the latest being announced last week to disallow short-term visitors from entering or transiting in Singapore, as well as limiting returning work pass holders to those providing essential services like healthcare and transport.
The minister described this as “very significant moves” for a small and open economy like Singapore. “But this is an unprecedented crisis, and we had to move decisively to keep our borders safe,” he said.
Tourists tagging their luggage at the self service kiosk in Changi Airport Terminal 1 (Photo: Jeremy Long)
While preparing for more returnees and more imported cases, the Government also does not want Singaporeans to be travelling abroad at this time to avoid adding to a third or fourth wave of imported cases, he said.
Hence, the country raised its travel advisory to the highest level last week, urging Singaporeans to defer all travel abroad with immediate effect.
It was also announced on Tuesday that those who insist on travelling will have to pay the full costs of hospital charges if they are admitted for COVID-19-related treatments.
MEASURES UNDER “CONSTANT REVIEW”
When it comes to preventing local transmission, Mr Wong said it remains critical to quickly identify and isolate confirmed cases and their close contacts through contact tracing and quarantine.
As of Tuesday night, there were around 2,500 persons under quarantine, be it at home or Government quarantine facilities, he told the House, while adding that authorities will continue with “tough enforcement” for both quarantine cases and those issued with stay-home notices.
The Government is also concerned about the number of locally transmitted cases, especially the ones that are unlinked. Given that the country is seeing more of such cases, a whole range of additional public health measures to slow down the spread of the virus, he said.
These are applied at different levels, the minister continued. For instance, there are baseline measures, such as daily temperature taking, refraining from shaking hands and practices to uphold personal hygiene which should be continued for a sustained period.
Beyond that, safe distancing measures which serve as “extra brakes” to help slow down the spread, have been introduced.
The first set, announced last Friday, suspended all activities for seniors, all events and gatherings with 250 or more participants, as well as requiring public venue operators to ensure separation of at least a metre between patrons.
While these measures have brought about some changes, such as fewer crowded venues and alternate seats marked in dining venues, the country “will have to move faster”.
Safe distancing measures are seen at a Toast Box outlet in Chinatown.
“We still hear anecdotes of people going to discos and night clubs, and gathering together in large groups – our big worry is that these can become super-spreader events, spawning new clusters and potential runaway outbreaks,” he said.
“These are major moves to slow the spread of the virus,” the minister said. “We recognise the inconvenience and disruption that these measures will bring to people’s lives, and to businesses, but we have no easy options.”
Mr Wong noted that this is the reality that countries around the world are facing while fighting COVID-19.
“The more we try to stop or slow down the virus, the steeper will be the damage on our economies.
“So we have to do what is necessary from the public health point of view first – to save lives, slow down the virus – and thereafter, do our best to manage the economic consequences,” he said, noting that the new measures have been shared with the team at the Ministry of Finance which will take these into consideration for the second support package set to be announced on Thursday.
Discharged COVID-19 patient Ms Jiang (in yellow) poses for a photo with doctors and nurses at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases. (Photo: Ms Jiang)
“We are now at a critical phase in our fight against the virus,” said the minister, who co-chairs a multi-ministry task force tackling the outbreak here.
Even with the latest measures, it is also possible that the number of infected cases could continue to rise. If that is the case, Singapore may need “more drastic measures”, such as suspending schools and closure of some workplaces aside from those providing essential services.
“So we will keep the measures under constant review. If the situation worsens, we will apply extra brakes.
“If the situation improves, we may be able to ease off a little bit but not go back to baseline … because the pandemic will probably still not be over for quite some time,” he said.
Mr Wong also urged all Singaporeans to cooperate and take the latest set of measures “very seriously”.
“The fight against the virus cannot be done by frontline agencies, frontline workers or government agencies alone,” he said. “Each and every one of us has to actively do our part.”
In his speech, Mr Wong also paid tribute to the healthcare workers on the frontline, public servants and officials who have been working around the clock, as well as unsung heroes in various sectors like cleaning, security, airport management, media, hotels, F&B and transport.
“And there are many Singaporeans who have stepped up in their own ways looking after one another and caring for our fellow Singaporeans,” he said as he paused twice, to take a sip of water while visibly emotional.
After taking a moment to compose himself, he added: “Words are not sufficient to express our appreciation for so many Singaporeans going all out to fight the virus and I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who is doing their part.”
“The coronavirus is, without a doubt, the biggest threat the world and Singapore has faced for decades.
“So let us rally together and rise to this challenge because as SG United, we can beat the virus together and we will emerge stronger and toughened after this crisis,” he said.
Singapore isn’t officially under lockdown yet from the ongoing pandemic, but it might as well be. The government announced yesterday (March 24) that bars, cinemas, nightclubs, theatres and other entertainment venues will have to be shuttered temporarily as part of the country’s battle against Covid-19.
This, on top of an already tough time for the events industry here, with multitudes of conferences, exhibitions, summits and concerts cancelled or postponed indefinitely. Basically, anything involving large gatherings of people (including religious services) is a no-go in the current climate.
The number of coronavirus patients aged between 20 and 29 has overtaken that of patients aged 60 and above to become the largest infected group, with most young adults having caught the bug overseas, primarily in Britain.
Of the 558 Covid-19 patients, 141 are between 20 and 29 years old, compared with 111 patients who are 60 and above. Out of these 141 cases of young adults, 78 per cent, or 111 cases, were imported.
Around three in five, or 68 of the 111 imported cases of young adults, had a travel history to the United Kingdom, The Straits Times (ST) has found, based on government figures and profiles of the patients.
Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, told ST: “The number of young people being infected reflects the demographics of people returning to Singapore as a result of the global situation, where a number of countries in Europe and North America are seeing widespread community transmission.
SINGAPORE: Some stations along the East-West and North-South lines will close early between April and June for maintenance and renewal works, said SMRT on Wednesday (Mar 25).
In April, four MRT stations on the East-West Line from Bedok to Paya Lebar will close earlier at about 11pm on Apr 3, Apr 4, Apr 17, Apr 18, Apr 24 and Apr 25, said the operator in a media release.
(Graphic: SMRT)
In May and June, five stations on the East-West Line from Dover to Lakeside, and three stations on the North-South Line from Jurong East to Bukit Gombak, will close earlier at about 11pm on selected Fridays and Saturdays, SMRT added.
The early closures will take place on May 15, May 16, May 29, May 30, Jun 5, Jun 6, Jun 12, Jun 13, Jun 19, Jun 20, Jun 26 and Jun 27.
During the closures in May and June, train services between Queenstown and Buona Vista stations will operate as a two-way shuttle with longer service intervals of up to 12 minutes.
“This arrangement allows train services to continue between these stations using a single track, while facilitating the turn-around of trains for the rest of the EWL (East-West Line),” said SMRT.
SHUTTLE BUS SERVICES
To maintain connectivity between Aljunied and Tanah Merah train stations, shuttle bus service 7 will be provided for affected commuters during the early closures in April.
Shuttle bus service 2 will take commuters between Buona Vista and Boon Lay stations in May and June, while shuttle bus service 4 will ferry commuters between Jurong East and Choa Chu Kang stations during the same period.
The buses will pick up and drop passengers at designated bus stops near the affected MRT stations at two- to five-minute intervals.
As the timing of the last trains departing from each station will vary, commuters are advised to check the departure times at the affected stations or on SMRT Trains’ website and social media platforms, said the operator.
“More time will be needed to travel between the affected MRT stations using the shuttle bus services,” it said.
The additional engineering hours will be primarily used to carry out installation of 22kV power cables as part of the power supply system renewal works, SMRT explained.
“Where feasible, the installation of railway noise barriers and replacement of track circuits will also be carried out along the early closure sectors in May and June 2020,” it said.
