Date enacted 30 January 2015 | Date assented to 6 March 2015 | |
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Date commenced 30 March 2015 & 1 April 2015 Bill Liquor Control (Supply and Consumption) Bill | ||
The Liquor Control (Supply and Consumption) Act 2015 is a statute of the Parliament of Singapore that regulates the supply and consumption of liquor at public places, and to make consequential and related amendments to certain other written laws. The law is designed specifically to deter recurrences of the 2013 Little India riot that took place with mobs under the influence of alcohol.
Contents
Background
In the days after the riot at Little India, then Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew who was also a Member of Parliament of the district wrote on Facebook that he would consider limiting the sale of liquor within Little India. A temporary ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol in Little India took effect during the weekend of 14–15 December 2013; followed by an extension of the ban for 6 months until 24 June 2014 which covered mostly parts of the Central Business District. Since May 2014, a total ban of alcohol with closing of night schools and limitation of nightlife areas took effect.
The Liquor Control (Supply and Consumption) Bill was subsequently proposed and assented by the President of Singapore. Liquor licence categorisation are reviewd by the new Act as follow:
Delivery of liquor must also be made in accordance with the trading hours specified in the liquor licence. Offences committed within the liquor control zones (LCZs) will result in a penalty of one and a half times that in non-designated areas.
Violators that are caught drinking may be fined up to S$1,000, while repeat offenders may be fined up to S$2,000 including three months of imprisonment. Retailers that sell alcohol during the curfew hours may be fined up to S$10,000.
Uses of the Act
Within the first two or three months of commencement, around 470 people were issued advisories because they flouted the regulations. Five were arrested, two were given stern warnings, while two retailers were investigated over selling alcohol past 10:30pm.