[p1acebo]

Extracted from an online sauce.....

Own Goal. But no penalty.

What most Singaporeans do not realise is that this was an 'own goal' by the government.

KTVs and bars have historically been licensed by the police, who have the surveillance capacity through officers dedicated compliance, powers of arrest and warrants to raid premises. These powers were codified under the Public Entertainment Act, the Criminal Procedure Code and the Liquor Licensing Act.

However once these premises were designated as Food and Beverage establishments and licensed as such, primary responsibility for surveillance and compliance shifted to the Ministry of Sustainability and Environment or MSE, which have none of these powers or the capacity, experience or intelligence set up to ensure compliance of such seedy joints.

A leopard does not change its spots. The action taken to revoke only the F&B of only the 3 KTVs connected to the latest cluster is an inadequate response to this regulatory short coming.

First, all KTVs should be recategorised as entertainment outlets and not F&B outlets and thus come under the supervision of the police once again.

Second, their licenses should all be mandatorily suspended indefinitely or at least till 80% or more of the population are vaccinated.

Third, when allowed to reopen police surveillance of these types of outlets should be reinforced and stepped up.

Fourth, the ICA should more tightly control the travel and so called family ties channel with respect to certain target countries which are known origins of these hostesses, namely Vietnam and the Philippines.

Fifth, fines and warnings should be dispensed with and immediate revoking of licenses should be the appropriate punishment of any breaches.

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