The Singapore Police Force (SPF) has issued an apology to the owner of a restaurant that was almost shut down when it was mistaken for a pivoted nightlife establishment.
In a letter published on The Straits Times (ST) Forum on Thursday (22 July), Superintendent Brenda Ong, Assistant Director of SPF’s Public Communications Division, referenced a previous letter by the owner two days earlier in which he recalled the anxiety-inducing incident.
The owner, Mr Goh Tong Hann, opened his restaurant earlier this year at a location that used to be a nightlife establishment, according to his letter.
However, he said that a couple of police officers had recently visited his restaurant on a busy Friday night asking for the place to be shut down as per prevailing COVID-19 regulations, having mistaken it for the nightlife establishment that was previously located there.
In response to Mr Goh’s letter, Superintendent Ong from the SPF came forward to apologise for the “unpleasant experience, and the anxiety that was caused”.
“Our officers had wrongly advised Mr Goh to cease his restaurant’s operations on the night of July 16.
“It was mistaken to be a pivoted nightlife establishment that was required to suspend operations for two weeks from July 16 to July 30, when in fact, it had taken over the premises formerly occupied by a nightlife establishment and is now operating as a restaurant,” she explained.
Superintendent Ong added that upon realising the error, the police had immediately notified Mr Goh the following day to offer clarification on the matter.
She went on to say that the police had also met Mr Goh in person and that he had accepted their explanation.
“We will tighten our processes,” Superintendent Ong assured. “We thank Mr Goh for his feedback.”
