Cherryloft resort fined, ordered to suspend bookings after 19 people found in adjoining units
SINGAPORE: A resort in Pasir Ris has been fined and ordered to suspend bookings after 19 people were found gathering, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said on Sunday (Jan 17).
Cherryloft Resorts & Hotels, located at 159 Jalan Loyang Besar, was fined S$1,000 and will not be allowed to accept new bookings for 30 days between Jan 17 and Feb 15. It may continue to fulfil existing bookings made before Jan 17.
The 19 people were found gathering in two adjoining units at Cherryloft on Friday during a joint enforcement operation by STB and the police. All were fined S$300 each for breaching the maximum group size of eight people allowed under Singapore’s Phase 3 restrictions.
READ: 2 Resorts World Sentosa hotels to suspend bookings for 1 month after failing to comply with COVID-19 measures: STB
The resort also breached multiple safe management measures such as failing to conduct entry screening and ensuring that guests performed SafeEntry check-ins for contact tracing, said STB.
Under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) Regulations 2020, all visitors entering hotels must be screened, including having their temperature taken, before they enter the premises. All businesses are also required to log the check-in of employees and visitors using SafeEntry.
As part of the gradual reopening of tourism businesses, hotels must not allow gatherings of more than eight people in a room or adjoining rooms, except where the gathering consists of people from the same household.
READ: Social gatherings of up to 8 people allowed from Dec 28, further reopening of activities in Phase 3
“Hotel operators and members of the public are required to strictly observe prevailing safe management measures at all times during their hotel stays, such as ensuring that group sizes do not exceed the permissible limit,” said STB’s director of hotel and sector manpower Tan Yen Nee.
“We take a serious view of any lapse in safe management measures, and will not hesitate to take enforcement action for non-compliance.”
First-time offenders face a fine of up to S$10,000, up to six months’ jail, or both. Repeat offenders may be fined up to S$20,000, sentenced to a maximum of a year in jail, or both.
Businesses that do not comply with safe management measures may also be ineligible for grants, loans, tax rebates and other government assistance, said STB.
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