Police apologise after mistaking restaurant for nightlife venue and ordering it to close

The police have apologised to a restaurant owner after ordering the Duxton Road eatery to close on July 16.

In a letter published on The Straits Times' forum on Thursday (July 22), the police said: "Our officers had wrongly advised Mr Goh to cease his restaurant's operations on the night of July 16."

They had mistaken Goh's restaurant Marcy's for a nightlife venue that pivoted to serving food and beverage.

Authorities ordered such establishments to suspend operations from July 16 to July 30 as Singapore saw a recent surge in community Covid-19 cases and a cluster linked to KTV lounges.

Apologising for the restaurant owner's unpleasant experience and anxiety, the police said they have met Goh who has accepted their explanation. 

Thanking him for the feedback, the police added that they will tighten their processes.

This follows Goh's own letter on the same forum on July 20, where he said police officers visited his restaurant and instructed him to close it by 10pm on July 16.

"I did not close my restaurant that Friday night because it was clear that the actions were a result of incorrect information," the restaurant owner wrote.

However, the police returned and shut down the eatery that night.

Goh and his staff had to "endure an anxiety-ridden 24 hours" before they received a call from the police on July 17 night, permitting the restaurant to continue operations.

"It has been blow after blow for the food and beverage industry in Singapore, and while I understand that many of the measures taken are necessary, the situation could have been handled better," he wrote.

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