Singapore — Hawker Wang Rongfu says he was fined $300 on Nov 14 for pulling down his mask in order to taste the food he was cooking at Geylang Bahru Market and Food Centre.
Mr Wang’s wife, who works alongside him, says that she was also fined the same amount earlier that day because her mask had slipped under her nose.
Mr Wang said he had been preparing a sauce at the time and put his mask down very briefly to taste the sauce. At that time, his wife was serving customers who had lined for their orders.
At first, they were approached by two safety distancing ambassadors (SDAs), and then three others came over as well, Mr Wang told Shin Min Daily News.
The hawkers were told they had violated regulations by not wearing a mask, and that if they refused to cooperate, the police would be called in.
On Nov 15, he called the authorities to ask for an explanation, but was told that “the SDAs had seen us not wearing masks, so it was just routine”.
Mr Wang insisted that his mask had been drawn down for less than 10 seconds. He reckoned that, at worst, he would receive a warning.
“The summons stated that we were not wearing masks in a public place. I hope the authorities can give clearer instructions.
“We understand that preventive measures must be taken during the pandemic, but this is unreasonable. Is my stall space also a public place?” Shin Min Daily News quotes the hawker as asking.
However, reports say that earlier that day, the couple had already been warned to mask up properly, and also, during the previous week.
The National Environment Authority (NEA), which oversees hawker management, then issued the following statement on the matter:
On Nov 14, 2021, five Safe Distancing Enforcement Officers (SDEOs) were deployed to the hawker centre at Block 69 Geylang Bahru. At about 12:30 pm, two SDEOs from the National Environment Agency noticed that a man and a woman operating a duck rice stall had their masks below their nose. They were not eating or drinking.
Approximately an hour later, the SDEOs observed the same man and woman wearing their masks below the nose. Both the man and woman were not eating or drinking. The man was cutting cooked meat while the woman was serving patrons. The SDEOs approached the pair to inform them that they had breached safe management measures by improper wearing of masks, and NEA would take enforcement action against them.
Online, however, from the comments posted, many netizens are siding with the hawkers.
Some clearly feel that there is more than public health at stake.
As Cassini Jayadas observed: “SDAs are so diligent in their work low-income areas. But where is this diligence when it comes to landed estates?
“I’ve just seen 3 groups of people strolling along with their masks down, and zero SDAs.”
/TISG