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SINGAPORE: A 39-year-old man was convicted of opening a karaoke lounge to patrons during the first phase of the reopening after Singapore’s “circuit breaker,” allowing them to sing and drink liquor despite restrictions designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. .
In state court on Wednesday (October 7), Leow Keng Chun pleaded guilty to charges of opening a non-residential premises to others, as well as providing public entertainment and selling liquor without proper licenses.
Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Koh told the court that Leow was the occupant and operator of DRINKITUP, a karaoke establishment on the third floor of a building along Jalan Besar, located within a liquor control zone.
The court heard that on June 5 this year at around 11 p.m., police officers were conducting compliance checks in the building when they found Leow, who admitted to them that there were other people in the store on the third floor.
In the karaoke room, the police found five people: three Singaporean men, between 25 and 39 years old, and two Vietnamese women, between 19 and 24 years old.
Investigations found that two of the men, Daryl Tan Siong Kit, 30, and Andrew Tay Jing An, 25, were customers who had reserved a room in the lounge for singing and drinking.
Leow had let them in around 9:30 pm through the back entrance of the building, which was locked.
The two men ordered towers of beer at a cost of S $ 100 each, which Leow served.
They then drank, played dice and sang with the two women, Le Quach Van Ly and Pham Thi Yen Ngoc, who were hosts.
Leow did not impose the use of masks on any of the four, nor did he take any other precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, said Koh, the prosecutor.
A fourth man, Low Hong Meng, 39, who was the building’s main tenant, was in another room at the time.
Investigations showed that Leow, as the establishment’s occupant and operator, paid Low a monthly rent.
Ms. Koh said that Leow knew that he was not the licensee of the establishment and did not possess a valid public entertainment license or liquor license to operate the karaoke parlor.
He added that despite being aware that the establishment could not operate due to COVID-19 restrictions, Leow had opened the establishment to anyone who made a reservation since June 2, when Singapore entered Phase 1 of its reopening. .
READ: From dawn to dusk, Singapore rolls off its COVID-19 breaker – In pictures
Ms. Koh noted that Leow knew the karaoke room could not operate and had taken steps to avoid detection.
He noted that not only were the building’s shutters closed and customers were allowed in through a rear entrance, but the electrical outlet door was also closed from the inside and police officers were forced to break a glass panel to open the door. door.
The prosecution requested a fine of S $ 13,000 for the three charges.
However, Leow asked for the amount to be reduced, stating that he currently had no source of income.
Leow has not been sentenced and will return to court on November 5 for a further mention of his case.
