More than 200 composition fines will be issued to members of the public who breached the elevated safe distancing measures on Sunday (12 April), said the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR).
On 12 April, MEWR stated in a press release that police assistance was required for over 20 uncooperative cases.
According to MEWR, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) detected an operator illegally hawking perishable wares at Bukit Batok on 11 April. The hawker had been instructed to cease operations immediately.
SFA will also be issuing a $1,000 fine to the hawker under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020.
“Non-essential service providers must not carry out any business from any premises. Non-compliance is an offence,” MEWR asserted.
Meanwhile, MEWR noted that there were significantly reduced numbers of people being spotted at town and neighbourhood centres as of 12 April, while crowds at parks have thinned with tightened enforcement measures.
“For instance, the crowd at Geylang Serai Market was observed to be about 50 per cent less than a typical weekend, and queues dispersed quickly. Tekka market did not have queues and the crowd was thin,” it stated.
Many stallholders at hawker centres and markets were seen wearing masks and ensuring their patrons comply with the safe distancing measures when queuing, said MEWR.
The Minister for Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli in a Facebook post also noted that “Singaporeans are conducting themselves well in public” and thanked the enforcement officers for their efforts in ensuring public compliance of the safe distancing measures.
“Our Enforcement Officers (EOs) come from 43 agencies and are helped by Safe Distancing Ambassadors. They have been out in force every day to cover all the public areas in housing estates, including this long weekend. I thank them for their efforts to keep us safe from the potential spread of COVID-19 in the community,” Mr Masagos stated.
However, MEWR noted that there were still a minority of people who continue to flout the safe distancing measures and continue to gather in groups to exercise, play sports and socialise.
“Members of public should continue to cooperate with us and adhere to elevated safe distancing measures. Agencies continued to maintain a strong presence of enforcement officers and ambassadors today, with over 3,000 deployed altogether,” it remarked.
On the other hand, the National Environment Agency (NEA) noted in its press release that 30 fines of S$300 each were issued to members of the public on 12 April for breaching the safe distancing measures at or near markets and hawker centres.
About 380 enforcement officers were deployed by the NEA to ensure the public comply with safe distancing measures, while more than 190 SG Clean Ambassadors were arranged to remind the public not to eat, drink or loiter at or near the cooked food section of hawker centres.
“Since the long weekend started on 10 April, a total of 32 fines and 120 written warnings were issued over three days to members of the public for non-compliance with safe distancing measures at or near the markets and cooked food sections of hawker centres,” said NEA, adding that police assistance was required for 28 uncooperative cases.
Stern written warning, fine of $300 or charge in court for anyone in breach of safe distancing measures
Earlier on 9 April, Mr Masagos announced that anyone who is found to be in breach or elevated safe distancing measures will face a stern written warning, while those who repeatedly flout the measures will be fined or charged in court.
According to Mr Masagos, first-time offenders will be issued a stern written warning. Individuals who commit a second offence will be fined S$300, while a third offence will lead to the person being charged in court.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also warned on 9 April that any group gatherings in public will immediately be issued a written warning by enforcement officers, adding that there were still many public gatherings spotted on the third day of the “circuit breaker” measures.
“The more we take liberties with the Stay Home measures, the longer these painful measures will have to last. I know we all want to go back to normalcy, but this can only happen if we take things seriously,” Mr Lee noted.
Mr Lee’s statement came after Mr Masagos noted on 8 April that 3,000 written advisories were issued on the second day of the “circuit breaker”. More advisories were issued when the “circuit breaker” measures first took effect on 7 April, with more than 7,000 advisories being issued as of 8pm.
