SINGAPORE - A campaign aimed at encouraging nightlife outlets and patrons to adopt safe clubbing practices has returned following a rise in the number of molestation cases and fights at nightspots.
Known as the Safe Clubbing Campaign, the year-long effort will see staff of public entertainment outlets receive training to handle situations involving intoxicated patrons effectively and safely.
This comes after a rise in molestation cases and fights in and within the vicinity of nightspots.
Speaking at the launch of the campaign at HighHouse, a nightlife venue at One Raffles Place, Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling said 106 outrage of modesty cases were reported at nightspots between January and September 2023.
This marks a 37 per cent rise from the 77 molestation cases reported in the same period in 2022.
Meanwhile, the number of cases involving rioting, affray, disorderly behaviour and serious hurt at nightspots rose in the first nine months of 2023, with 45 such cases reported. This was a 25 per cent rise from the 36 cases reported during the same period in 2022.
Ms Sun said: “Now, we all know that people want to come out to public entertainment outlets to have a good time and to, of course, return home safely. So these numbers are concerning.
“I think we should work together – the police, together with public entertainment outlets – to protect the safety of their staff as well as their patrons.”
Speaking to the media, Superintendent Randy Chua, commanding officer of Marina Bay Neighbourhood Police Centre, said: “With the public entertainment scene remaining diverse and vibrant, the police are concerned with the increase in the number of outrage of modesty cases and fights in and within the vicinity of outlets.”
He noted that the police are constantly exploring ways to collaborate with business operators to ensure a safe environment at nightspots. “For this year’s campaign, we brought in liquor suppliers, mainly from the Singapore Alliance for Responsible Drinking, so we can tap their networks and reach even more people this time round,” he added.
This year marks the fourth edition of the campaign, which was launched by the police and the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC). Previous versions of this campaign were held in 2018, 2019 and in 2023, following the resumption of public entertainment activities after the pandemic.
As part of 2024’s campaign, the police collaborated with the Singapore Nightlife Business Association, Singapore River One and NCPC to create a training handbook for staff working at public entertainment outlets.
This is aimed at equipping staff with knowledge to identify signs of binge-drinking in their customers and to teach them how to intervene early, as well as handle such situations safely.
Meanwhile, a set of mobile games to test customers’ reflexes and memory was launched as part of the campaign.
“These three simple games, which help to test reflexes and memory, are a fun and light-hearted way to see if alcohol-induced cognitive impairment has set in,” said Ms Sun, noting that these games are not sobriety tests.
The police said several nightspots, such as Marquee Singapore and Zouk Singapore, have trialled the games since end-December 2023 by offering entry fee waivers to those who play.
The police added: “We will continue to do our part by conducting regular checks on public entertainment outlets and will not hesitate to take strict enforcement action against errant outlets and patrons who commit crimes.”
On Jan 23, more than 10 men were charged in court over their suspected involvement in separate cases of molestation. Three of them had allegedly molested victims at nightspots.
Al Amin, 41, is said to have molested a 27-year-old woman at the Ce La Vi club at around 2.40am on Oct 12, 2023.
Jephthah Goh Poh Khang, 29, was at the Marquee Singapore nightclub shortly before 5.20am on Nov 25, 2023, when he allegedly molested a 25-year-old woman.
On Jan 1, 2024, July Izaak, 30, was at the Avenue Singapore lounge in Marina Bay Sands when he allegedly molested a 31-year-old woman.
