Alcohol consumption in public areas of Little India remains banned on weekends
PUBLISHED ONDecember 18, 2013 10:57 AMByWalter Sim
SINGAPORE - Alcohol consumption in public areas of Little India will continue to be banned on weekends, public holidays and the eve of public holidays, said the police on Wednesday.
Get the full story from The Straits Times.
Here is the full statement from the Singapore Police Force, Land Transport Authority and Ministry of Manpower:
The Government introduced a series of cooling-off measures at Little India last weekend to calm and stabilise the situation and prevent further incidents following the riot on Sunday, 8 December 2013.
The measures, which included the suspension of alcohol sale and consumption and the suspension of the Little India Bus Services (LIBS), have been effective and no public order incidents were reported over the last weekend. Specifically for the alcohol-related measures, the various licence holders, including restaurants and shopkeepers, had cooperated fully. They understood that this immediate tightening was necessary to restore safety and security to that area.
Moving forward, the Singapore Police Force (SPF), the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will introduce calibrated measures to maintain safety and security at the Little India area in a sustainable manner.
Sale and Consumption of Alcohol in Little India
The Police, in consultation with the Liquor Licensing Board, will be adopting a more calibrated and sustainable approach to manage the sale and consumption of alcohol at Little India and its surrounding vicinity, from this weekend onwards. These recalibrated measures will be in place for up to 6 months until the Committee of Inquiry has completed its work and made its recommendations. Measures for the longer-term will then take into consideration feedback from the ongoing public consultations on liquor sales and consumption in public places, and the COI's findings and recommendations. Where necessary, new laws and regulations will be enacted.
Police's principal considerations are as follows:
I. To maintain safety and security at the Little India area in a sustainable manner, over the longer term bearing in mind both residents' as well as commercial interests.
II. To strike an appropriate balance between the competing interests of the stakeholders, that is, the business and residential community in Little India; and
III. To adopt a calibrated and sustainable approach to manage alcohol consumption and sale, in view of the different risks posed by the various types of establishments and licenses.
To find the appropriate balance between the various competing interests going forward, Police also consulted with stakeholders, like the Little India Shopkeepers and Heritage Association, the Indian Restaurant Association of Singapore, and the grassroots representatives. Police have incorporated feedback from these stakeholders in coming up with the revised measures.
Continued Ban on Alcohol Consumption in Public Places
First, the Police will continue with the ban on alcohol consumption in public within the proclaimed area, starting from this weekend. The ban will be in force every weekend, public holiday and eve of public holiday. For weekends, the ban will be from 6am on Saturdays to 6am on Mondays. For public holidays and eve of public holidays, it would start at 6am on the eve and end at 6am the day after the public holiday.
Police will continue to rely on the Public Order (Preservation) Act to provide us with the necessary enforcement powers to curb alcohol consumption in public. The proclaimed area will cover the same area that was announced last week.
As with last weekend, Police will enforce strictly the ban against public consumption of alcohol, and we will seize alcohol being consumed within the proclaimed area.
We are continuing with the ban because there is good reason to believe that alcohol consumption and intoxication in public areas had contributed to the behaviour of the mob and aggravated the situation. Curbing public drunkenness is an important component of measures aimed at restoring calm and security in the Little India vicinity. The stakeholders that Police consulted had expressed support for the continued ban against public consumption of alcohol.
Lifting of ban on alcohol sales by Public House and Beer House
Second, the ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol on premises by shops holding public house and beer house licenses will be lifted. They will be allowed to sell the various types of alcohol as permitted by their respective licenses, but consumption must be within their premises. Any consumption outside their premises will be considered a breach of the ban against public consumption of alcohol, and Police will enforce this strictly. Lifting the ban for these different licenses will affect about 240 stakeholders and establishments, such as restaurants, hotels, pubs, and coffeeshops, and allow their customers to enjoy their drinks within the confines of the premises.
Police will hold all liquor license holders accountable for ensuring the conditions of their license are fully complied with. Specifically, they can only serve alcohol for consumption within their establishments. Police will take a stern view against liquor licencees who allow take-away of alcohol or who serve alcohol outside their licensed premises, in public areas. This is absolutely prohibited and licence holders risk losing their liquor licence should Police discover such breaches . Similarly, Police will act against establishments who continue to sell alcohol to customers who are already intoxicated.
Curtailment of hours for retail and wholesale licenses
Third, shops holding retail and wholesale licences will be able to sell alcohol, but only from 6 am until 8pm on weekends, eve of public holidays, and on public holidays. This will affect about 134 stakeholders and establishments such as liquor shops and convenience shops.
These outlets sell alcohol for 'take away'. Allowing such outlets to sell till the late hours will adversely affect Police efforts to enforce the ban on public consumption in the area. Instead of an outright ban, Police have decided to allow sales up to 8pm on the weekends, eve of public holidays and on the day of public holidays. The shortening of the retail hours will stop customers from having easy access to alcohol from these outlets during peak crowd periods.
Continued Police Presence
Police will also continue to maintain a strong presence in Little India. We will continue to monitor the situation closely, and continue to calibrate our deployment on the ground over the next few weekends.
Little India Bus Services to Resume Operations at 50 per cent Capacity
As part of government's calibrated and sustainable approach to restore normalcy in Little India, the 25 Little India Bus Services run by private bus operators will resume operation from this Sunday, 22 December 2013, but at half the number of scheduled buses for a start. The buses will operate from 2pm to 9pm, instead of 2pm to 11pm previously.
The changes were made in consultation with the two bus associations licensed to operate the LIBS, the Singapore School Transport Association and Singapore School and Private Hire Bus Owners' Association, who are supportive of this graduated approach.
Amenities for Foreign Workers
In terms of amenities for foreign workers, there are four recreation centres (SCAL Recreation Centre, Penjuru Recreation Centre, Woodlands Recreation Centre and Kaki Bukit Recreation Centre). These recreation centres offer a "one-stop-shop" for foreign workers, with sports facilities and stalls offering a variety of services and goods such as supermarkets, ethnic food, barbers, telecommunication shops and remittance services.
MOM has also been encouraging the major dormitory operators to provide more recreational activities for their residents. For example, this weekend, People's Association, in partnership with grassroots organisations, will be organising movie screenings at these dormitories - Tampines Dormitory, SCAL Kim Chuan, Seletar Flats, Seletar Lodge 1, Farmway Dormitory and Woodlands Dormitory. We understand that the Migrant Workers Centre is exploring doing similar.
MOM will continue to work with the major dormitory operators and other stakeholders to line up recreational activities for foreign workers that provide alternative ways for them to relax and enjoy themselves on their rest days.
Conclusion
SPF and other agencies have recalibrated the suite of measures that we are implementing this coming weekend and beyond into January. These measures are likely to remain in place for the time being, with adjustments at the margins as we take stock of the situation after this weekend and over the rest of the month. Measures for the longer term will take into consideration feedback from stakeholders and the agencies' monitoring of the impact on the ground.
Specifically for the alcohol-related measures, we will also refer to findings from the ongoing public consultation on liquor sale and consumption at public places and the COI findings and recommendations. Police will continue to work with the residents and business community as we develop a 'new norm' for alcohol control in Little India.
Here is a statement issued by Deputy Commissioner of Police T Raja Kumar:
The Government introduced a series of cooling-off measures at Little India last weekend to calm and stabilise the situation there and prevent further incidents following the riot on Sunday, 8 December 2013.
The measures have had the desired effect, with no incident reported over the last weekend. We thank the various licence holders, including restaurants and shopkeepers, for their cooperation. They understood that this immediate tightening was necessary to restore safety and security to that area, which also helped them as reassured customers progressively returned to patronise the outlets in the area. They cooperated with us and complied with the order not to sell liquor. These measures, combined with the increased police presence over the weekend, has helped to restore the residents' and community's sense of safety and security.
We have since reviewed the ban on alcohol, and are ready to announce the recalibrated measures we will be taking in Little India. These measures will be in place for up to 6 months until the Committee of Inquiry has completed its work and made its recommendations. Measures for the longer-term will then take into consideration feedback from the ongoing public consultations on liquor sales and consumption in public places, and the COI's findings and recommendations. Where necessary, new laws and regulations will be enacted.
The Police, in consultation with the Liquor Licensing Board, will be adopting a more calibrated and sustainable approach to manage the sale and consumption of alcohol at Little India and its surrounding vicinity, from this weekend onwards.
Principal Considerations
Let me share Police's principal considerations when coming up with the measures for Little India:
i. We want to maintain safety & security at the Little India area in a sustainable manner over the longer term, bearing in mind both residents' as well as commercial interests. ii. We need to strike an appropriate balance between the competing interests of the stakeholders, that is, the business and residential community in Little India; and iii. There is a need to adopt a calibrated and sustainable approach to manage alcohol consumption and sale, in view of the different risks that are posed by the various types of establishments and licenses.
Consultation with Stakeholders
To find the appropriate balance between the various competing interests going forward, Police have consulted with stakeholders, like the Little India Shopkeepers and Heritage Association, the Indian Restaurant Association of Singapore, and the grassroots representatives. The measures I am going to announce have taken their feedback into consideration.
Continued Ban on Alcohol Consumption in Public Places
First, we will continue with the ban on alcohol consumption in public within the proclaimed area, starting from this weekend. The ban will be in force every weekend, public holiday and eve of public holiday. For weekends, the ban will be from 6am on Saturdays to 6am on Mondays. For public holidays and eve of public holidays, it would start at 6am on the eve and end at 6am the day after the public holiday.
Police will continue to rely on the Public Order (Preservation) Act to provide us with the necessary enforcement powers to curb alcohol consumption in public. The proclaimed area will cover the same area that was announced last week.
As with last weekend, police will enforce strictly the ban against public consumption of alcohol, and we will seize alcohol being consumed within the proclaimed area.
We are continuing with the ban because there is good reason to believe that alcohol consumption and intoxication in public areas had contributed to the behaviour of the mob and aggravated the situation. Curbing public drunkenness is an important component of measures aimed at restoring calm and security in the Little India vicinity. The stakeholders that Police consulted had expressed support for the continued ban against public consumption of alcohol.
Lifting of ban on alcohol sale by Public House and Beer House
Second, the ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol on premises by shops holding public house and beer house licenses will be lifted. They will be allowed to sell the various types of alcohol as permitted by their respective licenses, but consumption must be within their premises. Any consumption outside their premises will be considered a breach of the ban against public consumption of alcohol, and Police will enforce this strictly. Lifting the ban for these different licenses will affect about 240 stakeholders and establishments, such as restaurants, hotels, pubs, and coffeeshops, and allow their customers to enjoy their drinks within the confines of the premises.
Police will hold all liquor licence holders accountable for ensuring the conditions of their licence are fully complied with. Specifically, they can only serve alcohol for consumption within their establishments. Police will take a stern view against liquor licencees who allow take-away of alcohol or who serve alcohol outside their licensed premises, in public places. This is absolutely prohibited and licence holders risk losing their liquor licence should Police discover such breaches. Similarly, Police will act against establishments who continue to sell alcohol to customers who are already intoxicated.
Curtailment of hours for retail and wholesale licenses
Third, shops holding retail and wholesale licences will be able to sell alcohol, but only from 6 am until 8pm on weekends, eve of public holidays, and on public holidays. This will affect about 134 stakeholders and establishments such as liquor shops, and convenience shops.
These outlets sell alcohol for 'take away'. Allowing such outlets to sell till the late hours will adversely affect Police efforts to enforce the ban on public consumption in the area. Instead of an outright ban, Police have decided to allow sales up to 8pm the evenings on the weekends, eve of public holidays and on the day of public holidays. The shortening of the retail hours will stop customers from having easy access to alcohol from these outlets during peak crowd periods.
Continued Police Presence
Police will continue to maintain a strong presence in Little India. We will continue to monitor the situation closely, and continue to calibrate our deployment on the ground over the next few weekends.
Conclusion
SPF and other agencies has recalibrated the suite of measures that we are implementing this coming weekend and beyond into January. These measures are likely to remain in place for the time being, with adjustments at the margins as we take stock of the situation after this weekend and over the rest of the month. Measures for the longer term will take into consideration feedback from stakeholders and the agencies' monitoring of the impact on the ground.
Specifically for the alcohol-related measures, we will also refer to findings from the ongoing public consultation on liquor sale and consumption at public places and the COI findings and recommendations. Police will continue to work with the residents and business community as we develop a 'new norm' for alcohol control in Little India.