Why should we reopen “family-friendly” KTVs soon as S’pore reopens – Wired PR Lifestyle Story

It’s the year 2022 and KTVs in the nightlife sector are still unable to operate as per normal in Singapore since Covid-19 arrived.

Coupled with higher difficulty in complying and higher risk of transmission, these establishments have been according to Teo Heng KTV’s boss “the biggest victims of the pandemic”.

The family KTV operator which used to run 14 stores across Singapore in its heyday, is closing another outlet this year and will be left with three outlets located at Causeway Point, JCube, and Suntec City.

The boss is even contemplating the shutting down of the entire business temporarily and to reopen only when the pandemic is over. At the moment, the business has pivoted its KTV branches and reopened its rooms for customers to “work, dine, and chill”.

It’s also focusing on selling karaoke sets and other services such as singing and massage classes.

Are KTVs dead? The rise of underground singing establishments

Is this the end for KTVs? Will the pandemic ever be over and will we ever see the end of the pandemic if we are now told to “live” with the virus.

In fact, KTVs are not dead, they’ve only gone underground. Ask some of my more “clubber” friends and that’s why they tell me, but I’ve not gone for any of those intermingling activities for the fear of my own health.

Earlier this year, the Singapore Police Force reported that a total of 187 people are being investigated for breaches under the Public Entertainments Act, Liquor Control Act, and Covid-19 regulations.

The checks took place between Dec 12, 2021, and Jan 23, 2022, and were carried out on 103 public entertainment and nightlife outlets.

Among those, there was a landed property at Beng Wan Road found with unlicensed KTV. The police found seven men and three women aged between 20 and 47, gathered for a dinner and a singalong session. The owner was a 28-year-old man.

The owner was running a commercial and food and beverage operation and was providing public entertainment without the required licenses.

He was selling private dining packages and the provision of karaoke equipment.

Another group of 49 people gathered in an unlicensed “KTV concept” outlet at an office / industrial building located along Lorong 23 Geylang. The scene included private rooms equipped with karaoke systems, speakers, and microphones. There were also hostesses at the scene.

Penalties for supplying liquor and providing public entertainment without a valid license carries a fine of up to S $ 20,000.

Individuals can be jailed for up to six months, fined up to S $ 10,000, or both, if they do not comply with safe distancing rules under Covid-19 measures.

The laws are strict and penalties will be harsh. So why are Singaporeans bent on flouting the law with non-compliance for safe distancing measures even after the Covid-19 cluster scare on KTVs earlier last year?

Unfortunately, the total clamp down on KTVs has led to many rebelling the decision by the authorities and some creating underground activities to appeal to errant individuals.

Perhaps the ruling may have been onerous to some, who frequent such places for normal entertainment. But could this clamp down lead to more illegal activities occurring because some operators are trying to find a lifeline that they rely on to get some income?

Reopening of nightlife sector “in the works”

Thankfully, the measures are set to ease in the near term.

In the press conference on Singapore’s reopening last week (March 24), co-chair of the multi-ministry taskforce Lawrence Wong said that the government has not decided to reopen the nightlife sector just yet but would like to see the reopening of the sector in two races.

This comes as some measures such as the lifting of the 10.30pm alcohol sale and consumption ban from March 29, 2022, were announced amid measures to reopen the economy.

Wong had said that singing will be permitted in groups at congregations and schools, but for nightlife establishments it will take some time for the Covid-19 restrictions to be lifted.

These establishments who have public entertainment licenses are “not only of higher risk of transmission but have higher difficulty in complying” he explained.

“We would like to see the reopening of the sector… and will announce later plans on reopening these establishments.” The minister referenced bars, pubs, nightclubs, and karaoke places as nightlife establishments.

Should we reopen the less seedy KTVs first as pilots?

Taking a look at less seedy KTV places like Party World, Teo Heng, and Family KTV, some might question whether there could be a way for these establishments to get the green light first in reopening their business as usual.

Although there might be some preferential treatment given and some might cry foul to the idea, we need to note that certain hawker centers also have stricter Covid-19 measures due to their ventilation space and seating arrangements so it is not always a one size fits all. solution.

For one, KTVs like Teo Heng are usually located within malls, which do their proper Safe Entry checks. The operating hours for these places are usually not too late at night. The traffic is also controlled as there will be mall cameras to track any suspicious activities.

As these KTVs are catered to families, the civic mindedness in behaving the proper way will likely be observed.

Also, the government has relaxed the Covid-19 measures to 10 per group, and if the KTV rooms have the capacity to accommodate, it could potentially work. But customers would have to either mask up most of the time even while singing or the operators would have to clean each room rigorously after each session.

Since customers can dine out in larger groups, as long as they meet the requirements such as being fully vaccinated and not showing symptoms, the idea of ​​gathering in a decent KTV room would not be much different. Certainly there needs to be more fine-tuning of how it can work, but for operators who cater to families, they are most likely to comply with the rules and follow them.

For seedier KTVs who wish to convert to serve families, the government can monitor and approve them on a case-by-case basis.

NO to home KTVs: spare a thought for those who work from home

These days, KTV operators are coming up with home KTV sets to sell, as a way to compensate for their income loss. I think authorities need to consider the noise hazard home KTVs contribute to the neighborhood.

Some homes don’t have the proper soundproofing walls set up and as some individuals croon to their favorite tunes, they may go off pitch. Imagine listening to your neighbors crooning the same song for hours and going off pitch, how much mental unrest that must cause to the block!

More people will head back to work soon, but there’s still a large majority of workers who are working from home or working part time to care for their family and children.

For the sanity of the workforce who are working from home, it would be best to keep the KTV sets to where they are supposed to be and allow them an approved space to belt out their favorite tunes, with soundproof walls surrounding them, of course.

Featured Image Credit: Teo Heng KTV