Government agencies combing footage of raucous Clarke Quay gathering to ID revelers

Singapore – Videos have surfaced of a packed gathering of more than a hundred revelers  at Clarke Quay on New Year’s Eve, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said that enforcement agencies are reviewing CCTV footage to interview those  involved.

On Sunday (Jan 2) the Multi-Ministry Task Force (MTF) overseeing measures to deal with the pandemic highlighted “blatant breaches” of safe management measures at the gathering and called it a “potential super spreading” event.

Mr Wong, who co-chairs the MTF, said in a virtual press conference on Wednesday (Jan 5) that enforcement actions will be taken against individuals found to have breached Covid-19 safe management rules.

Mr Wong told the press that the revelers “got caught up in the moment”.

“Our investigations show that this was not an organized event. What happened was that people started gathering together, they got caught up in the moment, and soon we have a crowd of more than one hundred people at that location with many flouting the rules,” Mr Wong said.

The crowds who gathered spontaneously in front of Riverside Point on New Year’s Eve soon grew too large for the police assigned to keep things under control, eyewitnesses have told the media.

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Pov: you are too old to celebrate New Years at Clarke Quay

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Yahoo! Singapore observed  that Mr Wong “did not address whether enough enforcement officers” had been assigned that night to manage things at Clarke Quay, which is always “a popular spot for partygoers” on festive occasions.

Mr Wong did, however, underline that the country “can’t afford” for crowds of such magnitude to congregate to celebrate Chinese New Year.  That is less than four weeks away.

The MTF had said on Sunday, “We would like to remind everyone that we are still in the middle of a pandemic crisis, and we still need to exercise civic responsibility”.

“Singapore has done what it can to “build up our resilience,” it added.

The authorities urge people  to follow the safety measures already in place  so that “the situation will continue to improve, and we can look forward to 2022 being a significantly more normal year”.

A Clarke Quay representative also commented  that the gathering was “impromptu” and did not happen at CapitaLand’s Clarke Quay property but at buildings in the Clarke Quay precinct.

“Safety of our customers is our top priority,” the representative said, encouraging revellers to “have a good time responsibly.” /TISG

Read also: Blatant breaches at Clarke Quay New Year’s gathering, possible ‘potential super spreading event’: COVID-19 task force

Blatant breaches at Clarke Quay New Year’s gathering, possible ‘potential super spreading event’: COVID-19 task force