By The SUN
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| Police and government personnel on a bar inspection operation (File) |
The Food and
Environmental Hygiene Department has carried out inspections of hundreds of bars
and restaurants in Central and other districts over the weekend, and initiated
prosecutions on 14 bars and 11 restaurants suspected of breaching anti-pandemic
regulations.
In addition, 83 people,
who were either staff or patrons of the inspected premises, were slapped with a
fixed penalty of $5,000 each for violating certain provisions of the Prevention
and Control of Diseases Regulation (Cap 599).
The raids followed the
spread of Covid-19 among 350 people, mostly patrons of six bars in Central and
Sheung Wan, over three weekends in May and June.
In two separate
statements released on Saturday and Sunday, the FEHD said it inspected a total
of 515 catering premises (including 58 bars) and 153 other premises on Friday
night until early Saturday. The next night, 608 catering premises (including 87
bars/pubs) and 130 other premises were inspected.
After the Friday night
checks, prosecutions were initiated against operators of 10 bars and 10
catering premises.
Of these, two bars and
10 restaurants were told to stop serving and selling food and drinks from 6pm
to 4.59am of the subsequent day, and restrict the number of persons per table
to no more than two for a period of three, seven or 14 days.
The other eight bars
found with irregularities were told to close for seven or 14 days starting on
Saturday.
In addition, fixed
penalty notices each costing $5,000 were issued to five bar customers and 20
staff suspected of breaching the new requirement of having to show a negative
result for a rapid antigen test (RAT) within 24 hours before entering a bar or
pub.
Twenty bar customers were
also issued with the FPN on suspicion of not following the cap on the number of
persons per table, and three more customers for not meeting the vaccine pass
requirement and scanning the LeaveHomeSafe app before entering bars.
An additional 18
customers in other catering premises were meted the same penalty for not
scanning the LeaveHomeSafe app QR code, plus 11 staff for not complying with
the relevant RAT requirements.
The Saturday night
inspections also led to prosecutions being initiated against operators of four
bars/pubs and one other catering premises suspected of breaching the anti-pandemic
regulations.
Two bars and the
restaurant were told to stop serving food and drinks from 6pm until 4:59am on
the next day and restrict the number of customers per table to no more than two
for a period of three, seven or 14 days. The two other pubs were shut down, one
for seven; and the other, 14 days.
In addition, the $5k
FPNs were issued to seven customers suspected of breaching the cap on the
number of persons per table and one customer suspected of breaching the RAT
requirement in bars/pubs.
One restaurant customer
was also issued the FPN on suspicion of breaching the vaccine pass requirement.
While
no names were in the two press statements by FEHD, reports and social media
posts said Crown Super Deluxe and Carbone, both operated by Black Sheep
Restaurants, were among those penalized.
Both restaurants were
reportedly told to stop serving food and drinks after 6pm each day.
Following the move on
Carbone, Black Sheep said the restaurant would be serving food only at lunchtime
for 14 days.
The group said it
thought it was compliant with regulations and was consulting its lawyers on the
matter. Meantime, it was looking for a worthy cause to which it could serve a “feast”
because of the excess food it had, thinking it would be serving 1,000 customers
over the weekend.
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| Cross-infections in six bars in Central including LINQ has led to 350 people testing positive (File) |
The FEHD reminded
relevant venues to strictly follow the regulations on businesses and premises
(Cap. 599F) and the vaccine pass regulation, including the new requirement for
the RAT for customers (Cap. 599L) as part of the bid to minimize cross infections.
The
statement said, "All sectors of the community should not lower their
guard, as the risk of rebound in the epidemic situation remains. The FEHD urges
premises operators not to defy the law."
Any
person in charge of a catering business who contravenes the regulations may be
prosecuted and if convicted, sentenced to a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to
six months’ imprisonment.
Patrons
must also comply with regulations applicable to them. Non-compliance could
result in them being fined a maximum of $10,000 which they could discharge by
paying a fixed penalty of $5,000.
The fixed
penalty may be imposed on those who violate the maximum number of people allowed
to sit per table, not wearing a mask when not eating or drinking at a table, or
failing to produce a negative RAT result.
Operators
of catering establishments who fail to exercise due diligence when checking the
RAT results of customers may be held criminally liable and required to close
their premises for up to 14 days as penalty.
